The Miyanaga Teru of Three Million Parallel Universes
by Seigetsu Ren
Summary: A collection of short stories centering on Shiraitodai's Ace of Aces. Some pieces may contain AU, OOC, and crack pairings. (July 5 update, Dark!Saki/Teru, part six, this short story is now complete!)
1. Seiko x Teru - part 1

AN: To be honest, I hesitated putting this up on the web. Initially, I wrote these pieces in Chinese as a language practice of sorts, mainly because I was having a huge block on my other (more serious) fanfic, _Of the Champion and Flowers._ Then I was thinking, wouldn't it be even better practice if I translated them back to English? Maybe if my PhD doesn't go so well, I can go and be a professional translator! (facepalms...I must be going crazy from failed experiments)

So, if you notice that the flow of words are not as natural as OTCAF, then that's probably why. Most of these stories are just going to be crack pairings I dreamt up of when I was chatting with other Teru fans, so some degree of OOC can be expected, especially when the story is set in AU. Once again, I do play mahjong, but I'm not a really good player, so if you notice any bugs in the games, please kindly notify me and I'll rewrite accordingly.

The title of this fic comes from a line in OTCAF that reads "Because the Miyanaga Teru of three million parallel universes would all be the same subhuman existence that talked of high ideals with picturistic poetry only to be too scared to face herself." This might become one of the underlying themes subtly tying the pieces together, but you can mostly view them as independent from each other.

That's pretty much it! Sorry for the long rant, I'll keep it short in the AN of future updates. Enjoy!

* * *

**1) From Idolization to Love (Seiko/Teru)**

Part One

Fishing requires many things. There is skill, there is experience, there is the need for appropriate equipment, but most importantly, you need patience.

For someone who had always gone fishing with her most beloved grandpa, Matano Seiko had always kept this advice in her heart and used it in other aspects of life too. Patience trained both Seiko's academic and mahjong skills to be top-tiered, so it became an almost obvious consequence that she would be accepted into one of the nation's top schools in both fields, Shiraitodai High School, and following that, an equally obvious consequence that she found herself in the prestigious mahjong club.

But it was then that Matano Seiko encountered the first pinnacle in her life that she could not reach no matter how she tried.

The first time she met Miyanaga Teru? That was probably around a month after Seiko entered the club. As a new student, Seiko had tried very hard to improve from her very first day as a club member, but compared to the senpai who had one or two years of experience ahead of her, her skills were still a little green. As a result, she was not invited into any of the teams that competed in the school tournament, but it really didn't make much of a difference, right? There was only one winner, and it could only be last year's national champions, Team Torahime. Even though other teams in the school finals were considered of prefectural representatives level, they seemed, in comparison, like they were just there to fill the table, extras whom nobody noticed.

As someone young and hot-blooded at the time, Seiko thought that if she were to enter a team, it had got to be Torahime. Because in everything that she did, she had to be the best! What she had was patience, and so long as she continued trying, there was nothing that couldn't be overcome.

So when it came her turn to clean up the clubroom after practice, either from curiosity or ambition, she found herself slipping over to the waiting room reserved for Team Torahime, peeking from the doorway at the practice matches that were being played in preparation for the prefecturals. Four people sat at the mahjong table, three of them being third-year senior students, but one just got up, seemingly having been knocked down to negatives by the remaining second-year student.

The second-year sported a head of magenta hair that dangled down to her shoulders. Though her face was calm, it held a kind of overwhelming power that commanded others' attention. The arm she used to receive the point sticks was slender, but carried a strength that could undoubtedly summon a tempest. Without realizing, Seiko's gaze lingered.

"Who's standing outside? A freshman? This room is reserved for Team Torahime. If you don't have any business here, then stay away. Don't disturb our practice."

A second-year senpai just came out to scold Seiko. Although she was just a back-up player of the team, she was known for her arrogance, often bossing other club members around. Seiko might want to rebuke, but she was a smart girl, opting instead to lower her head and apologize. However, before she could even make a sound, she was interrupted by a voice from the one seated at the table.

"It's fine, let's have her come in."

"But, Miyanaga-san...you..."

"If she is interested, then let's have her play a round with us. We're just practising anyway." At this time, Miyanaga Teru shifted her gaze towards Seiko. Meeting those crimson eyes for the first time, Seiko was caught not knowing how to react except staring back dumbly while her senpai spoke again, "Sorry, I have not introduced myself yet. I'm Miyanaga Teru, second-year. It's an honour to meet you."

"No...no...it's definitely my honour, Miyanaga-senpai! I'm Matano Seiko."

"Then Matano-san, if you don't mind, would you like to take the place of Hiroda-senpai and play an East Round with us?"

As this was just a practice game, it didn't really matter whether or not they picked wind tiles to determine the starting positions. Everybody else on the table didn't seem to mind, so Seiko didn't dispute either, just sitting down on the adjacent seat counterclockwise from Miyanaga.

Everybody's scores returned to 25000, playing with the 70th Interhigh rules of no red fives, no daiminkan pao, and the possibility of multiple yakuman. The game opened with Seiko's dealership. Even though this was her first time playing Miyanaga, no matter through what she heard or watched on televised recordings, she had a certain sense of the latter's play style. If she couldn't beat her easily after East 1, then she just had to make East 1 never end! Thinking this, Seiko didn't hesitate the slightest bit as she daringly dumped the east tile that was both her seat and prevalent wind. What she needed was speed. She didn't have time to wait on two more east tiles!

"Pon!" calling on a 2-wan in the third turn.

"Pon!" calling on a north wind in the sixth turn.

"Are you trying to go for a toitoi, Kid?" the third-year seated across from Seiko said with a smile. Seeing as Seiko opened the round with an east discard, she was probably going for speed and was unlikely to keep dragon tiles that others would reserve to obtain yaku. In that case, let's discard a hatsu!

"Kan!"

But there were already three hatsu tiles in Seiko's opening hand. All she was waiting for was a chance to open up the third meld!

"This time it's on the dead wall, huh?" Seiko muttered to herself, reaching out to take down the tile that she knew would bring her victory...

"Tsumo, rinshan kaihou. Toitoi, hon'itsu, yakuhai hatsu. 6000all"

"You seem to have some energy, Kid! If we played by the daiminkan pao rule, wouldn't I be in big trouble? Hahaha," the senpai who had dumped hatsu chuckled, dropping the point sticks off for Seiko. However, what Seiko was more interested in was the expression on Miyanaga...since when did her purpose of coming to the Torahime practice become the wish to see a change on this still countenance?

What was she waiting for, really?

Very soon, Seiko received her response. Even though Miyanaga kept her face as stonelike as ever, the gaze that peeked out her bangs became sharper, spreading a chilling aura to all four corners of the table. Then there was that mirror, a fantastical mirror that erupted from the ground to stand behind Seiko...it seemed as though it saw through something, something most important to her.

That person was becoming serious...

Seiko formed fists from her trembling hands. Clenching her teeth, she glared at the tiles that came up from the table upon her press of the button. Scared? No, how could Matano Seiko be scared of just this little drizzle in the breeze? Incoming storms disturbed the waters, luring fish to surface. This was the perfect time for a big catch!

It was still East 1, her dealership. In that case, let Miyanaga-senpai witness her strength!

The tiles seemed to resonate with her thoughts. Once again, a closed triplet of yakuhai sat in her starting hand, which also contained a pair of dora. If she managed to make a triplet from the dora, that would at least be a hand of 4-han. Then...

"Pon!" Seiko declared a triplet of 5-sou in an early turn. Even though there were no red fives according to the rules, she still had to thank Miyanaga for discarding a tile in the middle of the sequence so soon.

Wait...a tile in the middle of the sequence? Could she already be at...tenpai!?

Since it was early in the game, Miyanaga didn't have many discards, so Seiko didn't have any tile that was absolutely safe to play. The safest was probably the triplet of haku in her hand, right?

She couldn't just lose her dealership so easily. Throwing away a han from the yakuhai? Who cares. There was still a haku left - she could just draw it back!

Seiko discarded a haku.

"Ron, 1900."

...it was really Miyanaga!?

The last haku was actually in her possession, reserved as a single wait on the final pair that made up her winning hand. All for a yakuhai, closed seat wind north, hand that was worth 1-han, plus the 300 points bonus?

No, this was probably the start of "that".

The consecutive wins of the Champion!

"Ron, 2000"

"Ron, 3900"

Miyanaga just won off Seiko's tiles no matter how she tried to dodge. Even though in the opening hand she won 18000 points, still sitting at the top even after losing 7800, what came after was East 4 all last, Miyanaga's dealership. Last time it was a 3-han hand. This time it would definitely be larger, approaching 10000 points at the very least. Even without a renchan, so long as she won off Seiko directly, Miyanaga would be able to make a reversal for top place.

No, this shouldn't be Seiko's thoughts now.

Work hard, aim for the top, never admit defeat. Scared of losing? There was no need. What was there to be scared of? Even if she were to lose, as long as she continued to try her best, one day she'd win!

Besides, she didn't intend to lose now either.

There was a perfect opportunity in her starting hand - a pair of east that would give her yaku if she made a triplet. Furthermore, it was Miyanaga's seat wind, so even though Seiko couldn't guarantee that she didn't have other yakuhai, at least holding onto east would take away one of the opportunities for Miyanaga to win quickly, right?

It had been ten turns, but because of Miyanaga's calls, the tiles that Seiko should've drawn to form pairs were taken by the other players and discarded. In that case...

"Chi!" taking Miyanaga's 3-pin, Seiko shifted the drawing order, knowing she would then obtain the tile that Miyanaga would've gotten in the next turn. When it came her turn again, she drew in a 4-wan. Looking at Miyanaga's open 333-wan and 678-wan melds and her discards of predominantly pinzu and souzu, could it be that she was aiming for a chin'itsu?

Aiming for the same suit as the player seated ahead of you in the drawing order was one of the stupidest ways of playing this game, but it would make it less probable for Miyanaga to win off Seiko. Keeping 4-wan, she discarded 9-sou. If Miyanaga's draws were really so miraculous, then the wanzu to follow would now fall into her hands instead!

Seiko reached iishanten very quickly, just waiting on an east tile for yaku, then she would be at tenpai for a hell wait on 3-wan. But just before her next turn, Miyanaga's discard was pon'ed off by the smiling senpai across from her.

"Sorry, Kid. Seeing your wishful face made me want to disturb the drawing order a bit, hehe," she said, then made a discard.

That was what the third-year student said, but it was hardly the real reason for her call. The tile she pon'ed off, north, was her yakuhai. Now that she had yaku, her hand with a closed triplet of dora could finally reach tenpai, so her call was inevitable.

But because of this, Seiko's tile fell into Miyanaga's hand instead.

"Kan"

It was the last 3-wan, added into Miyanaga's existing triplet. And that wasn't it. The new dora indicator was 2-wan!

_Please don't rinshan kaihou. She mustn't rinshan kaihou!_

Luckily, the rinshanpai wasn't what Miyanaga needed. If that were so, Seiko still had a chance!

Even if she couldn't hell wait on a 3-wan, she could draw in a tile to make a pair for reaching valid iishanten again. Drawing in a fresh tile that had yet to appear on the discards, she dumped the relatively safe 2-wan, waiting for the player after her to draw and discard, then the player across from her...

"Ron"

For the first time, Miyanaga won off a tile that wasn't Seiko's, but the senpai who was at tenpai!

"Tanyao, sanshoku doujin, four dora, 18000."

"Teru...you're such a bully...wasn't there a consensus to let the newbie have fun today? Why did you turn around and snipe me instead?"

"That idiot isn't me. She won't pick someone to snipe." Another starting player of the Torahime team, Hirose Sumire, who had thus far watched silently from the side spoke, "Also, it was senpai's fault for not trusting Matano's strength in taking down Teru. Knowing the north tile was a trap, you still called a pon, so you just have yourself to blame for this."

"Sumire is so harsh! Senpai's heart is bleeding..."

As though having predicted that her senpai would start whining, Miyanaga ignored her, turning instead to Seiko, "Matano-san played pretty well. When you have time, would you like to come and practise with us again?"

"Eh!? I...I can really come again?"

Maybe it was just her imagination, but it seemed to Seiko that Miyanaga's gaze turned slightly more gentle...

"Of course. I look forward to Matano-san's growth as a player."

Day by day, a year passed by quickly. Even if the senpai who had scolded her the first time she visited Team Torahime's room were to get a stroke from frustration, it wouldn't change the fact that it was Seiko who had become a starting member of the team after the third-years graduated. Being invited into the team, and later to become a starting member was what Seiko probably considered the most important achievement of her life thus far, and this brought her much happiness that she never thought she'd obtain. To watch Shiraitodai accomplish two consecutive wins from backstage, to see her admired Miyanaga-senpai become the Interhigh individuals champion, and later repeat this feat in the Spring Tournament, Seiko got to experience all this and also witness a different face behind the monstrous exterior of the one who stood at the pinnacle of high school mahjong. The Miyanaga-senpai she knew would buy snacks for them, arrange play records that she wouldn't need herself, but analyzed for the sake of the other members. She would stay late to clean up the club room after practice, cook for them during training camp (then again, her food was so horrible that Hirose-senpai ended up ordering take-out instead)...all these little fragments that made up who Miyanaga Teru really was, Seiko silently collected them all, feeling happy just from watching by the sidelines. But what this naive complacency really showed was that Seiko's courage to stand by this lonely Queen had long been extinguished. Even though she thought she was stepping closer, she was really being left far behind.

If Oohoshi didn't enter the team, perhaps she wouldn't have realized all this, right? Along with Shibuya Takami and herself, Oohoshi became a starting member this year, but the talent she possessed was what Seiko admitted she would never have. Without much effort, Oohoshi gained the name of "one loved by the tiles" to stand alongside Miyanaga-senpai. Who would know how hard Seiko had to work just to win once under Oohoshi's 5, 6-shanten safety zone? And then how much more work she had to put in to cooperate with the other two players to force Oohoshi into showing her double riichi ability? Even so, the only person who could consistently win against Oohoshi's full power was none other than Miyanaga-senpai herself. Even the experienced Hirose-senpai could only snipe Oohoshi with a big hand once in a while, let alone Seiko whose only way of ever beating Oohoshi was to pile the tile mountains into a circle!

Only someone like her could walk into the heart of someone as strong as Miyanaga-senpai, right? After a year of interaction, Seiko learned how to tell Miyanaga-senpai's emotions through the subtle differences in her gaze, but never once did she ever see her smile aside from the exaggerated grin she displayed in public. She would've never imagined that Senpai's lips could curve in such a subtle, yet genuine and warming way...

...yet this smile was of course not for Seiko herself. It was for Oohoshi, who was sleeping with her head cushioned on Miyanaga-senpai's thighs.

When she came across this scene the rare time she visited the roof, why did Seiko feel a sudden ache in her chest? It felt like the time when she accidently fell overboard as a child. The sea was an emotionless cold, yet it stubbornly clenched onto her, pulling her farther into the depths. She wanted to cry out, but what came out her mouth were soundless bubbles, making her lungs scream painfully for oxygen. Yet when she gave in to the urge to breathe, the water that gushed in burnt her trachea till she writhed uncontrollably. The light beyond the surface became increasingly darker, all her surroundings losing colour along with it.

"Seiko, is something the matter?"

The person's face had returned to its usual cold, staring down from high above her. Seiko's eyes were stinging, probably because the setting sun was too bright, reminding her that she shouldn't stare at it directly. She lowered her gaze, shaking her head a little.

"Not really. I just came to get some fresh air. Sorry for disturbing. I'll head back down now."

She ran down the stairs without turning around, heart pounding as though wanting to break through her chest. Didn't her friends consider her confident and optimistic? Why was she becoming like...

...like a school girl who just realized her crush was taken?

Since when did she even develop this kind of unexplainable feeling towards Miyanaga-senpai - a feeling that would never be returned?

How disappointing, this weak self of hers. What was the use of thinking about this anymore? Knowing this to be impossible, the only route left was to give up, right? The sun would still rise from the east tomorrow, the Earth would continue spinning. All Seiko had to do was to keep working hard as always, because nothing would change. Yes. This couldn't even be considered a heartbreak, right? Because Miyanaga-senpai had known nothing, and would never know, reason being Seiko had always and would continue to keep her feelings in her heart.

This was good enough. That was all she wanted.

Just before the school tournament, Seiko was assigned to vice captain position. This had always been her dream for the past year, a position that would allow her to protect the points others had collected and expand on their lead to leave everything for her most trusted senpai, but this year, her senpai chose to switch to the vanguard position, leaving the important responsibility of captain for Oohoshi. This probably showed her absolute trust for the first-year.

If that were Senpai's choice, Seiko would follow, doing her best in what she had to do. No matter whether it was the school tournament, or the prefecturals, Seiko never once relaxed, playing to her very best in every match. Even against relatively strong players, she continued a plus-points streak, never staining Torahime's reputation as the "strongest in history". But even when they won the privilege of representing West Tokyo, Senpai's face did not display the slightest bit of happiness. When Hirose-senpai asked about it, she just replied, "They're not even qualified to be my opponents." So the opponents Seiko deemed to be relatively strong were just time-wasting obstacles in Senpai's eyes? As expected, Seiko's role in this team was probably nothing more than for filling up the roster.

At the nationals, Shiraitodai was the first seed and wasn't even required to play in the first round, automatically qualifying. In the second-round, Shindouji's Shirouzu was strong, but under Miyanaga-senpai's tremendous lead, even she could only aim for second place to enter the third round, thus didn't make the slightest attempt of targeting Seiko. Play stably, pass on the responsibility to Oohoshi...just by doing this, they easily made it to the semi-finals.

The vanguard match of the semis was the first time Seiko saw Miyanaga-senpai's surprised expression. Even though she didn't disappoint by winning more than 90000 points, Seiko knew, this was probably the first time she had witnessed Miyanaga Teru playing seriously. Senriyama's Onjouji Toki seemed capable of foreseeing the future, shifting the drawing order so that the girl who had initially just hogged the dora, Achiga's Matsumi Kuro, managed to win a baiman of 16600 points off of Senpai when she gave up her play style towards the end of the game. To think that the time a year past when Seiko first played with Miyanaga was a serious game? How naive. In reality, she probably wasn't even comparable to the girl who retained her smile even through all difficulties, Shindouji's Hanada Kirame.

What happened to giving up? The gap between Senpai and herself wasn't something that came up overnight. Having long decided that she would just stay behind Senpai's back and silently follow, Seiko gathered her remaining courage to step onto the vice captain stage. She was Shiraitodai's number five, with a strength comparable to the ace of most prefectures. Even against Shirouzu, who Senpai had warned to be careful against, she had retained a positive score in the last round. There should be no problem this time either. At any rate, Oohoshi was their captain, so all she had to do was to play normally. But aside from a slight advantage at the very start of the game, Seiko lost, hand by hand, bit by bit being plunged into absolute despair. The points Senpai had fought hard to collect were being tossed out Seiko's hands into the enemies' vaults, the once distant King that Shiraitodai was collapsed down to a position where they too had to fight for a chance of advancing. With all this happening, Seiko couldn't even remember how she managed to finish the remaining games.

"Thanks very much for the match," she spoke this out of politeness, then left the vicinity as quickly as she could. How much did she wish to return to the past so she would never have gone to the Torahime practice room that day? If she had not done so, she would never have been invited into the team, never becoming a starting player, never losing so badly. How could she even go back to the waiting room now? Her steps lost their previous power, becoming so light that they seemed unable to even carry her own weight. No, she couldn't fall down, couldn't sway here. No matter how much she lost, she couldn't lose her dignity too. But even having said that, she still didn't know how to face her teammates, how to face Senpai. Was Seiko no different from the contestants at the West Tokyo Prefecturals whom Senpai deemed to not even qualify to challenge her? It was just that she was lucky to have been basked in the light of her teammates to travel this far with them? Even if the starting players of her team didn't think this, someone in the mahjong club would definitely say something. Yet who could blame them? Even Seiko believed the same thing.

"Matano-senpai!"

Ah, a golden-haired figure appeared before her...without realizing, she had already walked all the way back here.

"Oohoshi..."

"Thanks for working so hard to increase the challenge for me!"

Seiko should be angry by such a provocative statement, but she wasn't in the mood of rebuking, "You really won't save me any face, huh?"

"This is the first time I've seen you lose that bad."

"I was targeted."

"Is that so?"

So what if this were so? So what if this were not so? The person who lost was Seiko herself. There was nothing to blame other than being too weak.

Seeing Oohoshi, who seemed to be grinning from genuine excitement over this difficult situation, Seiko could only beg her for the very first and only time.

"My position in the team is already really rocky, so please, Oohoshi, don't lose." Pulling on the girl's face, she struggled to smile, "You have to win!"

"Alright! I'll win, because the word 'to lose' doesn't exist in my dictionary."

Watching Oohoshi's shadow fade into the distance, then rethinking how she begged a minute earlier, Seiko wanted to slap herself. There was so much more she wished for. Why couldn't she be just a slight bit stronger? Why couldn't she be a little more like Oohoshi to stand beside that person so dear to her?

...because she had given up. Even before the game, before this match, before anything ever happened...

When the captain match ended with Shiraitodai advancing only in second place, Seiko finally understood all this.

Oohoshi lost to Takakamo, but did she blame Seiko for losing too many points so Achiga could take their position? No. She solely concentrated on how to beat Takakamo a hundred times in return. Hirose-senpai, who had lost the least points of everybody in their team except Miyanaga-senpai, strived to get rid of her tell and use it to her own advantage in the finals. Yet Seiko herself? She was just hoping that Oohoshi's performance would make her own failures more acceptable. How stupid and weak-willed!

"I...I will work hard to improve too!" Seiko finally declared.

Having heard what everybody had said, Miyanaga-senpai just gently replied, "Un. As long as we win next time."

Senpai had never just trusted Oohoshi alone. She placed her trust with everyone.

It wasn't about who relied on whom, who should receive the glory of victory, who should receive the blame of failure...

...because Torahime belonged to all five of them.

Staring at Miyanaga Teru, Seiko remembered the strength that had captured her in the past:

The feeling back then was not idolization. She was impressed by Miyanaga's existence. It inspired her to become just as strong.

She couldn't keep giving up anymore! No matter how far she had already been left behind, she would work hard to catch up to her, to make it by her side!

_(Seiko/Teru story to be continued next time...)_


	2. Seiko x Teru - part 2

AN: Thanks EnigmaticPerson and Raine-chi for their comments last time. Much appreciated! To be honest, I've always shipped Seiko with Takami as well (heck, I've started writing about the pairing in my current OTCAF drafts so what can I say?), but I suppose writing Seiko/Teru was fun too. I do agree that despite Seiko taking the spot of "biggest loser" in the _Saki_ manga thus far, I'm looking forward to a better performance from her in the finals. In the semis, she might as well have thrown out every discard without looking and would've lost fewer points simply because it would then be impossible for FunaQ to take advantage of her discard pattern. I really don't want to start an argument or anything, but I do think she lost so many points as a plot necessity more than anything else: who told the author to have hyped Teru up throughout the entire manga so that Shiraitodai had to take a major lead after the vanguard match, and who told Achiga-hen to be serialized as a shounen manga that would more or less require Achiga to advance in first place to the finals? As much as I love most of the characters of the manga, I must admit it's not the most carefully-constructed and reasonable plotline that I've seen in the anime world, but really, that's totally not the point of the show. I'm happy enough to see sparks-laced whirlwinds lash out on the mahjong table, lol! Anyway, this little Seiko/Teru story will continue, and end with this chapter. There are a number of references to the bonus page of the manga, stuff from Kobayashi-sensei's blog, as well as _Saki Biyori_, in case you're wondering where the characterizations came from. I'm still contemplating what Teru pairing to write next, so ideas are more than welcome!

* * *

**1) From Idolization to Love (Seiko/Teru)**

Part Two

On the eve of the finals, there was an article on the latest issue of_ Weekly Mahjong Today_ that dug up a news report from years ago, revealing some things about Miyanaga-senpai's past. _"Child trapped in fire trying to save cousin, survives by sister's timely call for help. Cousin tragically passes away."_ There were many phone calls asking about this particular title and what it implied about Senpai's relationship with Kiyosumi's captain, but despite making a few chiding remarks, Hirose-senpai took care of everything. Miyanaga-senpai just sat silently by the corner reading. Even though her face was its usual calm, Seiko knew Senpai's attention wasn't on her book. The number of times she flipped the page was much fewer than usual, and her eyes were locked on the first line of each page, unable to continue through the text.

On the actual day of the finals, Senpai declined all interviews, heading directly to the stage of the vanguard match. Though it was tough facing Rinkai's Tsujigaito Satoha with Achiga's dragon queen slowing her down by hogging the dora, Miyanaga-senpai shouldn't just be able to win a little more than 10000 points in the first half. It was obvious that she was being affected by the article.

"We'll just have to work harder to make up for this," Hirose-senpai said, but Seiko knew, this shouldn't be all that they were doing. When she felt depressed after the terrible loss during the semis, wasn't it Senpai's words that gave her confidence again? Now that Senpai needed them, how could they just leave her behind?

"I'll go talk to Senpai," Seiko said, then rushed out of the waiting room. Oohoshi Awai stared at her, then shifted her gaze to Hirose Sumire...it was obvious that Teru wanted some alone-time now, which was why she didn't return to the waiting room, so even if her idiot Matano-senpai decided to search for Teru, she wouldn't find her, right? But Sumire just smiled a little. Perhaps only the courage of an idiot could pull the Champion back from her painful past to her current reality. Otherwise, Miyanaga Teru might forget the fact that she really hadn't ever been alone.

_We've always been here waiting for you, Teru._

Seiko knew that Miyanaga-senpai couldn't have left the contestants' area, seeing as there were reporters waiting outside. To hide from everyone in their team, as well as Kiyosumi's captain, she probably wouldn't come near the waiting rooms either. Then would she have stayed at the competition stage? No, the recordings showed her as the first one to step down after all last. Then where could she be? Let's not think too much and start searching from the stage area first...

When she made it there, Seiko found a storage room nearby. The lock was probably dysfunctional, as the door was standing ajar, leaving a narrow slit between its edge and the frame. Seiko pulled it open. As expected, the lights were on inside, and Senpai sat on a chair with not even her usual reading material in hand. She was just sitting with eyes closed as though trying to get some rest.

Seiko hesitated, but decided to call out anyway, "Miyanaga-senpai, are you alright?"

After a moment of silence, Teru opened her eyes, casting a tired gaze on Seiko, "Sorry, I'm not feeling very well today. I'll probably have to rely on you and the others more than usual."

"How can you say that, Senpai? You're still in first place, right? What do you expect me to say, seeing as I lost more than 50000 points last round?"

Teru actually smiled a little at this, "Who can guarantee that I won't lose more than 60000 points in the second half?"

"It's not going to happen!"

Seiko's serious reply actually surprised Teru a little. Seiko, on the other hand, just pushed herself to continue speaking despite the blood that was rushing up her face.

"I...believe in Senpai."

"Really? But you must know, I'm a liar..."

As Seiko had guessed, Miyanaga-senpai was really affected by the issue with Kiyosumi's captain. How could she not be affected? She had seen someone close to her lose her life to a fire, yet even when she left her sister behind to rush to her rescue, there was nothing she could do but watch it all unfold in front of her eyes. It was a tragedy that had undoubtedly scarred her for life, yet after so many years, it was being dug up, spread, and discussed by everyone who should have no right to say anything about it. The feelings that Senpai was experiencing now...even if Seiko tried to imagine herself in her shoes, she might never comprehend.

"I...probably can't understand Senpai's feelings now, but..."

Ignoring her pounding heart, the ten thousand thoughts running in her mind, screaming for her to be more rational, Seiko closed her distance to Miyanaga Teru with a single step, then pulled the latter into her embrace.

She'd be pushed away, right?

She'd be detested, right?

She couldn't think so much now. She just had to let this person know what was in her heart!

"The Miyanaga-senpai now has me, has everyone. In our hearts, Senpai isn't just some sister of the Kiyosumi Captain. This never mattered to being with. To us, you're the one who would buy us snacks, help us analyze play records, clean the clubroom after practice, and make really disgusting-tasting food that I still can't help but enjoy. Because all this is proof of who you are. This is the Miyanaga Teru we know.

So please, don't give up on us. Please bring us victory!"

After having said so much, Seiko expected a struggle, a retort, a denial, but nothing came. Instead, Teru just stayed in Seiko's arms, letting her warmth seep into her cold.

"I do actually realize my cooking is bad, so couldn't you have left that out?"

And then, what Seiko saw was the smile that she thought Miyanaga Teru would never display for her. It wasn't the painful smile a moment earlier, nor the fake smile she wore for the media. It was genuine, gentle, warm...the most beautiful thing Seiko had ever seen. So this was what "love" really was, right? Not the respect and admiration for an idol, not the thankfulness towards someone's kindness. It was just a simple, pure wish of wanting to see someone happy, and in return, become happy because of it. She wanted to stay by her side, give her warmth on winter nights, support during hard times. She didn't want to watch her from far behind, but instead, wanted to hold her hand and walk on no matter what awaited them in the future.

Would such a day come? Seiko didn't know, but she came to a decision - some day before Senpai graduates, she would express these feelings for her.

"Ah, I finally recognize the smell."

"Eh!?" Seiko made a weird sound by reflex due to Teru's sudden remark.

"What Seiko uses on her hair is the shea butter bar soap from _Dive_."

"Eeeeeeeeeeeh!?"

"Even though it's very moisturizing too, please use a proper shampoo next time."

Such wonderful atmosphere was utterly destroyed by Teru's complete inability to read the mood. Seiko could only reply tearfully in response, "Even Senpai is gonna bully me now? What should I do?"

Teru chuckled lightly, ruffling Seiko's hair gently. It was then that the broadcast sounded for contestants to return to the stage, and Teru's face immediately returned to its usual calm, but this time her gaze had undoubtedly sharpen with its past strength. Yes, this person was the pinnacle of ten thousand high schoolers, their one and only Champion. She wouldn't lose. She couldn't lose!

"Thanks, Seiko. I'll work hard.

No matter if it's my private matters or this match, I won't let you or anybody else be disappointed."

Seiko replied with some last encouraging words before escorting her senpai back to the stage, then returned alone to the waiting room after buying some snacks to take back with her. As she had promised, Miyanaga Teru took the second half like a storm. No one could stop her anymore. Renchan after renchan, 50000 points fell quickly into her hands, making Hirose Sumire stare blankly at Seiko, asking her exactly what did she say to their ace to reverse the situation in this way. Seiko just smiled and replied, "I told Miyanaga-senpai that I would buy a box of chocolate mahjong to await her return, but asked her to promise not to eat them right away this time. That's all."

"Well, from the way she's trying to make someone go bust, it looks like she doesn't intend to fulfill that promise. What a glutton!"

Even though Miyanaga-senpai put in a lot of effort, and everybody else on the team played better than the last round, they still lost to Kiyosumi's captain to only take second place in the end. Even so, everybody enjoyed the 71st IH. They made new friends, broke through personal limits, and with Senpai? She finally reconciled with her sister and took down the individuals' championship title once again to proudly retire from the high school mahjong stage.

Maybe not many people would've guessed that the reason Miyanaga Teru recovered in the second half of the vanguard match, and later even found the courage to admit her relationship with Miyanaga Saki was all because of Matano Seiko's words. From childhood onwards, Teru never really thought about herself. As a kid, she played the role of a good sister, and after escaping to Tokyo from her failures, she only entered and won the championships to fulfill her mother's hopes. She would've never guessed that the little things she did on a whim would be noticed, or perhaps it would be accurate to say that she never even contemplated who Miyanaga Teru would be aside from the fame that came with her name. There actually existed people who supported and encouraged her not because of the image she produced for the public? And how long did those people wait for her, the real her? Her father, her sister, and everyone from Shiraitodai...it wasn't that she simply did not want to disappoint them, it was that she couldn't hurt them anymore by running away once again, because in the end, she had just been hurting herself too.

She had to work hard and face everything in her past, everything in her current reality. Because if she thought about it, the Miyanaga Teru she wanted to become should be a strong person after all.

Did she accomplish this now? Teru stared down at the school yard from the roof. Cherry blossom petals were dancing, once again signaling the season of goodbyes and new beginnings. It finally came time for her to graduate into a new stage of life. There were some things she would miss about this place, but overall, there were no regrets, aside from maybe the chance to properly thank that person once again.

The door to the roof opened, surprising Teru from her thoughts. The person she had been thinking about earlier appeared at the doorway. Matano Seiko squinted her gaze against the sunlight, but stared directly at Teru from where she was standing.

"Ah, as I've guessed, Miyanaga-senpai decided to come here."

Unlike what she did in the past, Seiko climbed up the ladder, coming to Teru's side. Teru patted the vinyl mat beside her, "It's cooler here. Please sit."

"Un. Thank you, Senpai."

The two of them sat silently for a moment, just staring off into the vast expanse of West Tokyo skies. The sunlight was comfortably warm, its heat rounded off by the cool touch of a spring breeze.

"Is Senpai not going to go downstairs and bid everyone farewell? Hirose-senpai probably can't hold on much longer."

Though Shiraitodai was a girls' school, their jackets a different style from typical male uniforms, younger students would still ask for the jacket buttons from senpai they admired upon their graduation. As the school idol, it was expected that Sumire's jacket would be fought over to the point that it was probably about to be torn by now. Just thinking about it made Teru want to laugh in glee despite her unchanging expression. Who told Sumire to always chide her? She'd definitely find the opportunity to bring this little incident up many years from now just to see Sumire's face of horror even then.

"I'll go downstairs in a bit."

Seiko could read from the mischievous light in Teru's eyes that she was lying once again. Last time when they were watching the B side during the nationals' second round, didn't Senpai say she would come down in a bit, but sat on for two more hours?

"In that case, can I stay here with Senpai for a bit too?"

"Un."

Seiko watched the breeze weave through Teru's magenta hair, blowing aside her bangs to reveal the crimson mirrors that were her eyes, reflecting the West Tokyo cityscape in her gaze. Seiko did consider just asking for Senpai's jacket button, but the meaning it carried, the meaning of farewell, wasn't what she wanted. She imagined her own image reflected off those red orbs and decided that she wanted it to stay there, day by day, year by year, until the very end. So, there was just one thing to do. She took a deep breath and gathered her courage.

"Umm...Senpai!"

"Hmm?"

"I..."

If she just said that cheesy line here, would it be too...sudden? She knew her feelings weren't founded on a whim. There were ten thousand reasons for them, but she couldn't just blurt them all out, right? That'd make it seem like she was forcing them onto Senpai. Then...then...

Seiko sat on her knees in front of Miyanaga Teru, bowing down deeply, "Senpai, I've liked you for a long time! I know this sounds a little sudden, but...but...would Senpai please go out with me?"

Teru fell silent. It wasn't that she had never been confessed to before, but it was the first time she seriously considered it.

The ones who had confessed to her in the past were those who didn't really know her. But Seiko wasn't like that. When Seiko said she liked Miyanaga Teru, she meant who she really was, not the facade she put up for the media.

But what about Teru herself? What kind of feelings did she hold for Seiko? A part of what she missed about her high school years did involve this person, so perhaps she did hold some affection for her, but was that affection equivalent to Seiko's feelings? Never having thought about this possibility, Teru must admit that she really didn't know.

"Thank you, Seiko."

The girl who had thus far kept her head to the ground finally looked up to Teru once more. The older girl was smiling, the same genuine smile Seiko had seen that time during the nationals.

"I do like Seiko, but I don't know if it's the same kind of feeling as what you feel towards me. If you don't mind, would it be possible for you to give me more time to consider? I will try hard to understand Seiko better, and please let me show you more of who I am as well. If we do develop the same kind of feelings towards each other, then I have no issue with starting a relationship with you."

With the conviction that she would be harshly rejected, Seiko almost didn't expect this answer that was obviously thought out with care. It was hard to believe that Miyanaga-senpai was really giving her a chance. That could only mean that she did hold some sort of position in Senpai's heart, and that alone made Seiko really happy at this very moment, regardless of what kind of future might await them.

"Of course! I'll work really hard to understand Miyanaga-senpai better!"

"Then, should you not try to call me by my given name now?"

"Umm...err...Te...Teru-senpai."

Thinking back many years later, Seiko came to the conclusion that Teru really didn't lie to her that day. The year after her graduation, Teru still returned to Shiraitodai whenever she was free to spend time with Seiko. In fact, they probably spent more time together than they did back when Teru was still attending the school. Seiko, too, changed and grew. Though as Shiraitodai's club president she didn't manage to lead them back to the champion seat, they did make it to the finals once more, and Seiko herself took a place as West Tokyo's individuals' tournament representative, finishing top ten in the nation. The year after, she started attending the same university as Teru, starting their life living together. Yes, it was about that time that they officially started dating.

That day was one Seiko could hardly forget. It was a weekend afternoon, waves calm as the setting sun lit the waters a bright golden. It wasn't the perfect time for fishing, but since Teru liked reading under the sea breeze, Seiko still set up her fishing rod by the dock, waiting for the attached bells to signal an unlikely catch.

"So what are you reading today, Teru-senpai?"

Seiko knew Teru liked reading both contemporary and classic works regardless of the nationality of the author. The time spent waiting for a catch was best for discussing the contents of these books with Teru, so after many weekends together like this, Seiko developed an interest in reading too.

"This is Leo Tolstoy's _Anna Karenina_. Do you want to read it? I can read it aloud for you."

Actually, Seiko had already read this book before, but if she could hear the words from Teru's voice, then it would definitely be a nicer experience. With Seiko's nod of approval, Teru started reading from the page she was on, her clear and gentle voice interwoven with the rustle of the seas to reach Seiko's ear.

"He stepped down, trying not to look long at her, as if she were the sun"

Answering this sentence, Seiko stood up, walking over to where Teru was seated. She set her hand down on the page to cover it, knowing the next words by heart anyway.

"...yet he saw her, like the sun, even without looking."

**_Ring...ring...ring..._**

"Crap! There's really a catch!?"

When Seiko rushed back to where her rod was set, she slipped and stepped into thin air. Next she knew, she was belly-flopping into the water with a loud plop! Looking at Seiko's head of pale green take a couple seconds before surfacing, Teru didn't know whether she should laugh or cry or just laugh until she cried, totally not understanding how she could come to love such an idiot!

Wait...this feeling...

Her heart pounded faster.

Her face heated up.

All the teasing words she wanted to say to Seiko vanished upon her realization.

"Teru-senpai? Are you alright? Your face is really red..."

"I'm fine."

"Eh? I thought Senpai was finally touched by my cheesy words...darn, I fell into the ocean for nothing."

"Then why don't you climb back up and dry yourself off? You're going to catch a cold like this."

"Yes, yes..."

After pulling herself back onto the dock, Seiko was quickly dragged away by her senpai who insisted they go back home so Seiko could take a shower to warm up. Seeing such wonderful mood once again ruined by Teru's dense personality, Seiko grumbled to herself, "Darn...if only I could get a kiss just for my efforts..."

Teru almost heard Sumire's famous quote float in her head: _Are you an idiot?_ But since Seiko was someone she liked after all, she could just sigh, "If you just wanted a kiss, you didn't have to jump into the sea..."

"Eh!? If I'm understanding this properly..."

Teru stopped her steps to face Seiko with closed eyes. If even at this point, she still didn't understand, then to hell with it.

But of course, even someone as stupid as Seiko would still understand something so obvious.

When the setting sun kissed the horizon, Seiko, too, pressed her lips against Teru's.

Their first kiss was not marshmallow-flavoured. It held a savory tinge of sea salt, but for sure, it was really sweet.

_(Seiko/Teru story - End)_


	3. Yuu x Teru - part 1

AN: Thanks Raine-chi, Vein's Simply Tired, and EnigmaticPerson for their kind comments in the last chapter. I have plans to write Awai/Teru and Saki/Teru (as I'm a fan of those pairings, as well as Sumire/Teru), but they're rather common, so I put them on hold while I start with the more bizarre ones first. This is a crackfic afterall, haha. I've played _Memories of Summer_, in the original Chinese version in fact. I actually played it twice and am on my third play-through now (of all the routes), so that probably speaks lots about how much I adore the game. My only qualms with it was that it didn't have a Sumire/Teru route... Kuro/Teru is an interesting pairing, and you know what, I think pairing the vanguards with Teru are all rather interesting, including Toki/Teru (though I'd feel sorry for Ryuuka) and Kirame/Teru (Oh, I adore this one. Subara!) Anyway, with this fic though, I picked Yuu/Teru as the next pairing to play with. Yup, you read that right. It's Matsumi Yuu x Miyanaga Teru. The two characters haven't even faced each other directly in the show, so though I think it's a super cute idea, it was a huge challenge to write, and I've admittedly made the characters rather OOC in the process. Still, it was fun anyway, so please read it as the silly comedy that it was intended to be. I made a lot of references to Teru's seiyuu, Nakamura Mai's other role as Ryuuguu Rena in _Higurashi no naku koro ni_. That and a certain doujin on pixiv of Teru smiling on camera because Sumire said she could eat shingen mochi after the photo shoots. As usual, please enjoy. Comments and suggestions for other pairings to do in the future are appreciated!

* * *

**2) The Warmth that's Solely Mine (Yuu/Teru)**

Part One

December, Nara Prefecture

Winter was especially cold this year. A rare snowy scene appeared before Matsumi Yuu's eyes - from where she was inside the boiler room, she could see a thick blanket of white cover everything visible outside the window. While everybody was excited about this, Yuu was worrying over how she could possibly survive the next few days...

_Ring...ring...ring..._

The wind chime rang upon the opening of the front door. Even though it was quite a distance from the boiler room, Yuu could still seemingly feel a draft of cold wind blow inside, making her shiver. This was quickly followed by footsteps down the corridor, and then the sounding of Yuu's sister, Kuro's voice.

"Nodoka-chan is really here! Welcome, welcome!"

"Good morning, Kuro-san. Here is a little something I brought along from home, hope you'd like it."

"Nodoka-chan is so polite! Next time just bring along your chest when you come by, hahaha..."

That Kuro-chan...how come she was becoming more like a lecherous old geezer by day? She was rather well-endowed herself anyway...

Well...it was great that Kuro-chan's friend, Haramura Nodoka, has arrived - she had promised to come by to visit everybody from the Achiga Mahjong Club during her winter vacation, but because of the poor weather the past few days, Kuro-chan had been worried that her trip would be cancelled. Well, it seemed like the people from Nagano could withstand the cold much better than them, as would be expected from a city that had once hosted the Winter Olympics...

"Um...hello, I'm Miyanaga Saki. Very nice to meet you, Matsumi-senpai. Here is a little something from my sister and myself as well, hope Senpai and your family would enjoy it. Thank you very much for taking us under your care for the next few days."

Ah, so the friend that Haramura-san said she would bring along is Kiyosumi's captain, Miyanaga Saki. It seemed like the rumour that they were dating might be true. Of course Yuu didn't actively find out this piece of gossip - she just overheard Shizuno and Ako!

Wait, that didn't seem to be the point...Miyanaga Saki's sister came as well? Wasn't she...

"No problem, no problem! ...Um...Nodoka-chan, Saki-san...and...Champ...Champion-san, please come in."

So the Champion did come? Oh, Kuro-chan...how could she call the guest "Champion" in front of her face? How impolite...then again, it was tough facing the Champion twice during the Nationals. Kuro-chan probably still held tendrils of fear for her, even now...

Though Yuu probably had ten thousand complaints about leaving the relatively warm boiler room, she left them unsaid as she made her exit, knowing Kuro-chan would be close to tears if she didn't rescue her from their guest soon. Yuu returned to her room, covered herself with three extra blankets, and then made her way slowly to the lobby of their inn where Kuro was already preparing tea for their visitors. Yuu took over the kettle, helping pour the tea into respective cups.

"Thank you very much, everyone, for coming to visit our Kuro-chan. Here is our crudely-prepared tea, if you don't mind. Please enjoy."

The Champion picked up the cup and took a sip, "The tea is very delicious. Thank you, Matsumi-san."

"Miyanaga-san can just call me Yuu, otherwise it would be difficult to tell Kuro-chan and myself apart."

"Then Yuu-san, please also call me Teru. Calling each other by surnames might be quite confusing in this case."

Though the Champion's face was still stiff as stone, the expression in her eyes was relatively mild. Yuu gave Kuro's hand a firm grip, as though telling her: _Look, isn't the Champion just like a little hen standing in the way of her sister to stop her from accidentally wandering off and starving to death atop Mt. Yoshino?_ Of course, what Yuu would never know was the accuracy of her guess - this was precisely the reason why Miyanaga Teru rushed back home to Nagano from Tokyo, then accompanied her sister all the way here to Nara.

"Um...the gifts that our two Miyanaga-san brought along are quite numerous it seems! Looks like our family won't be able to finish them alone! Then...why don't we all share them!"

Looks like Kuro-chan still didn't want to face Miyanaga Teru directly...using this excuse, she turned her attention towards the gifts, taking out a bag of dried Ichida persimmons, ripping open the package, and then started munching on them.

In order to ease the awkwardness, Miyanaga Saki also took out a bag of specialty snacks from Nagano, misuzuame, a type of candy sweetened with mizuame syrup and juice, and solidified with agar. "Oneechan highly recommended this! She bought a box of it to take back to Tokyo before she even came home upon arriving at Nagano."

"I've moved to Nagano for quite some years already, but I'm a little embarrassed to say that I have yet to try this. Is it okay if I also try one?"

"Of course you can, Nodoka-chan!" Kuro answered between mouthfuls of persimmons.

"Then let's try the strawberry flavour then. It's Oneechan's favourite," Miyanaga Saki said, taking out a piece of candy, unwrapping it, and then delivering it directly into Haramura's mouth. Yuu's mouth nearly hung open upon witnessing the shininess of the lovebirds' feeding antics, but just when she thought that was all, she felt a huge drop of atmospheric pressure immediately behind her. Glancing back, she could see lightning in Miyanaga Teru's eyes, the tuft of hair poking out her head seemingly rose like a devil's horn. Kuro-chan could probably feel this killing intent as well, rushing over to hide her shivering form in Yuu's embrace.

Um...Teru-san, did you come to Nara not just to prevent your sister from getting lost atop Mt. Yoshino, but also to prevent your sister from getting stolen by Haramura-san? But weren't you the one who didn't recognize your sister until very recently...?

"Since we have snacks and drinks now, how about we play a game as well?" Yuu tried to ease the tension before Miyanaga Teru could take out a cleaver. Kuro-chan hurriedly clapped her hands together in approval.

"Then what should we play?"

"Mahjong." Miyanaga Teru's cold voice could be heard echoing between the room's walls.

Please, Teru-san, if you want to punish your sister, would you do so when you get home? Look at our poor Kuro-chan...she would cry soon!

"That's a good idea! I haven't played with Oneechan for a long time!"

Saki-san, how could you support your sister too? Your family's mahjong isn't what normal people would call "playing", alright?

Yuu suddenly realized that she, too, had the potential to play the straight man much like her fellow sergeant, Hirose Sumire.

"But we have five people here. Wouldn't a person be left out of the game?" Haramura noted her scientific observation, as usual.

"Then, how about we..."

Just when Yuu was about to suggest another game, Kuro interrupted, "Then how about you four play first. I'll go prepare lunch!"

Kuro-chan...how could you betray your sister like that? Even though her face totally said: _Sorry, hahahaha_, but Yuu still couldn't help sigh inwardly about how little sisters sure grew up quickly. When Kuro was still a kid, she would always protect Yuu from the bullies, but look at the way she sold her out just now...Yuu almost felt like she could feel Miyanaga Teru's current sentiments.

But no matter how unwilling she was, she still couldn't refuse a guest's request, especially when the mahjong table was sitting right there in the lobby, so it wasn't as though she could claim that they didn't have a table to play on. And the fact that everyone present were contestants at the Interhighs made it difficult for Yuu to claim that she didn't like mahjong...like who would believe that? Yuu could just watch her sister escape while she herself led everyone to the table, flipped the wind tiles, and then took a seat at their respective positions. Right after her on the drawing order was Miyanaga Teru...what should she do now? That electric whirlwind _gigigi_ was making Yuu feel really cold...

East One started with Miyanaga Teru's dealership, letting Yuu sigh in relief. Though the Champion had faced both her own sister and Haramura-san on the Individuals, Yuu didn't participate in the Individuals and her position was different from Miyanaga Teru's during the Team Tournament, so according to Kokaji-pro, she would probably give up on winning during East One to observe her opponents, right? And because they had promised to only play an East Round before lunch, then they probably wouldn't see the hellish dealer repeats from the Nationals, right?

"Tsumo, 500 all."

Eh!? The one who made a menzen tsumo for 1-han 30-fu three turns in was Miyanaga Teru!? What happened to giving up on winning in East One? Where was the legendary mirror? Did Miyanaga Teru already decide to ignore Yuu to focus on plunging her sister and her sister's "kidnapper" to oblivion?

"Ron, 3200," winning off the younger Miyanaga's 3-sou, a dealer toitoi in the first bonus round.

"Ron, 8300," winning off her younger sister again, dealer riichi, ippatsu, iipeikou in the second bonus round.

Despite this, the little sister was still smiling brightly as she handed the point sticks to her older sister. In the third bonus round, she still dared make a daiminkan of Haramura's 1-pin, taking down the rinshanpai and dumping it without even looking...

"Ron, pinfu, tanyao, sanshoku doujin, non-dealer 4-han 30-fu, third bonus round, 8600."

So this was how a wife followed her husband? Or a wife followed her wife? Making a kan of Haramura's tile to take down the rinshanpai then giving it back to Haramura for a win - wasn't this little technique a little too flashy?

"You've successfully stopped Oneechan's dealer repeats, Nodoka-san! You're amazing!" The younger Miyanaga sister was grinning innocently like she were harmless as a hamster, but that statement clearly made the older sister's vein pop out from the top of her forehead. Yuu already had no energy left to sarcastically wonder whether the younger Miyanaga sister really knew that plus-or-minus-zero didn't refer directly to the points but to the final scoring...she just used her position as a passerby to observe the rare and rather funny state of the Champion's face.

But this wasn't a one-sided affair. When Haramura Nodoka dealt East Two, for whatever odd reason, she didn't play her usual scientific mahjong, calling pons left and right to make Miyanaga Teru, who sat before her in the drawing order, fall behind by three turns in drawing. With this reduced speed, Miyanaga Saki was able to tsumo a rinshan kaihou for 400/800 before her sister could complete her hand. Haramura did this again in East Three, forcing Miyanaga Teru to riichi in hopes of increasing her speed, but that gave Miyanaga Saki a chance to make yet another daiminkan to disrupt the draw order, shifting the winning tile into her sister's hands. Due to declaring riichi, her sister was forced to discard the tile for Haramura to win with a toitoi.

Err...Saki-san, don't you think the way you're collaborating with your girlfriend against your sister is a little evil? Yuu became a little worried that Miyanaga Teru was about to burst a blood vessel, trying to uphold her expressionless face even under these circumstances...

Maybe it was Yuu's sympathy, or maybe it was some other unknown reason, but when Yuu sat as dealer in East Four and guessed that Miyanaga Teru was probably going for a kokushi musou by her discard pattern, she decided not to hold onto the warm-looking chun tiles to stop her, instead helping the older Miyanaga sister by calling a chi to shift the last chun tile she should've drawn into Miyanaga Teru's hands instead. When she took in the chun tile, Teru's face remained still, but the gaze she lifted from her hand to face Yuu displayed the slight confusion she was feeling. And faced with such piercing gaze, what Yuu felt was, unexpectedly, not fear, but a sort of strange shyness. She turned her quickly heating up face to the side, thinking, for the first time, a question she had yet to consider all her life till now: _is covering up in three blankets a little too much afterall...?_

Because of her musings, Yuu nearly missed the upcoming plot twist. Haramura, who was sitting in west, daringly dumped her seat wind in firm belief of the probability theory, most likely reaching tenpai. Considering their 2-vs-1 strategy (well...Yuu didn't really feel like she was part of the game anymore...), it wouldn't have made a difference, since Miyanaga Saki already had her mouth open to call a kan, but Miyanaga Teru didn't even say a word while she pushed her tiles onto the table. After the rings of the falling tiles faded, she made a simple call, "Ron, 32000" without even noting the name of the yakuman she had just won.

Even Yuu wanted to say: _today's mahjong sure is unscientific._

At any rate, the game ended without Miyanaga Teru having a stroke - Yuu wanted to applaud just for that alone. After lunch, Kuro-chan continued her game of hide-and-seek against the Champion, hulling Yuu in one hand, Nodoka-chan in another while she quickly made her exit, saying that she had promised to play mahjong with Shizuno and the others at school. And worse yet, Miyanaga Saki also smiled brightly and said she'd come along since she hadn't played Shizuno ever since the captains' match during the Nationals! But didn't that mean leaving Miyanaga Teru behind, all alone? That wasn't too appropriate...right? Besides, Yuu certainly didn't want to get in the way of their Miyanaga family business again, so she chose, instead, to stay behind as well.

"It's snowing out...I think I'll just stay..." Yuu told her sister.

"Oneechan, you sure you don't want to come play with us too?" Kuro-chan was obviously apologetic this time, "I can ask Shizuno and the others to come over instead..."

"Wouldn't it be a bother to ask them to come all the way here in this weather? It's alright, Kuro-chan. I'm a little tired from playing with the two Miyanaga-san and Haramura-san earlier. How about Kuro-chan and your friends go enjoy yourselves without me?"

With that said, Yuu created a situation in which Miyanaga Teru probably had no choice but to let go of her own little sister out of consideration for Yuu. Well, wasn't she a gentle person afterall...?

"Come, please sit." Yuu invited Teru to her room, then immediately proceeded to curl herself up by the kotatsu heater, covering up in blankets to leave only her face exposed. With Miyanaga Teru seated right across from her, emotionlessly staring at her as though she could go at this all day without saying a word, Yuu was a little stuck as to what she could possibly say to break the ice.

"Um...Teru-san...would you like tea?"

Wait, didn't she make the situation even more awkward by offering tea yet again? It wasn't as though she were Shiraitodai's lieutenant!

"Yes please, if you don't mind," Miyanaga Teru didn't seem to care either way, taking the cup Yuu offered and silently sipping on it like she did earlier in the lobby. The gaze she set on the tea was amazingly serious...it couldn't be that she was trying to evaluate the tea quality, right? This made Yuu a little nervous.

"This tea is different from what we had this morning, did you add...ginseng?"

"Yes! Teru-san's sense of taste sure is amazing, as would be expected!" Wait...did Yuu just implicitly accuse Teru of being a glutton? After all, the taste of ginseng was fairly strong. Anybody would've caught on... "Err...umm...actually...what I meant was, I just added the ginseng because I like the taste, but not everybody can accept it, so Kuro-chan didn't add any when she prepared tea for you this morning. So...well...what does Teru-san think of the taste?"

"It's very good. Thank you."

After that, the room fell into silence again. Yuu wasn't a very talkative person to being with, so with the addition of Miyanaga Teru, who didn't usually bother saying even the names of the yaku she won, it was with little surprise that they would find themselves staring dumbly at each other with not a word exchanged. But what was different about Yuu and Teru was that Yuu wasn't used to others' gazes, especially from a stranger such as the Champion. When those crimson eyes, said to be able to see through a person's deepest secrets, were set on herself, Yuu felt a little giddy, her heart pounding hard in her chest.

Noticing that she, too, had been staring at Miyanaga Teru all this time, Yuu's discomfort was furthered by embarrassment, her face heating up once again. She quickly moved her eyes away, setting them behind her where a cabinet stood, atop of which a box of shingen mochi was conveniently placed. Yuu took it down, put it on the table, and was a little surprised to see Miyanaga Teru's gaze follow her movements all the way to where the box was now set.

Wait...last time when they had the A block semi-finals sergeants' reunion before they left Tokyo, didn't Hirose-san say she had to leave early to help Teru-san buy shingen mochi? Could it be that what Miyanaga Teru had been staring at all this time wasn't Yuu, but that box of snacks?

For some reason, Yuu was a little put off by the idea, using a little more strength to tear off the packaging than was necessary, then plunging the wooden disposable knife deeply into the soft cake. Miyanaga Teru blinked in awe.

"Teru-san, you wanted some of this, right?"

"...err...umm...no...please don't mind me, Yuu-san. You can go ahead and have some. I'll just watch."

"Is that so? Then please excuse me."

Yuu took her sweet time spreading the kuromitsu syrup all over the shingen mochi, cut a small piece, then delivered it into her own mouth, chewing a little before sticking out the tip of her tongue to lick off the residual kinako flour on the corner of her lips. Miyanaga Teru said she was fine just watching...well, she sure was watching rather intently, watery eyes completely still while she repeatedly swallowed her saliva. Though picking on Teru was her original intention, Yuu couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her by now.

"Teru-san really don't want any?"

"...may I?" Miyanaga Teru asked timidly upon losing to the temptation.

"Of course."

Yuu cut out another small piece, said "ah..." to give Miyanaga Teru the hint of opening her mouth. The Champion looked a little uneasy at being teased at first, but this hesitation was quickly thrown out the window when she shut her eyes tightly and answered with an "ah...", opening her mouth wide despite a quickly reddening face. Who would've guessed that the almighty peak of high school mahjong would throw out her dignity just for a piece of shingen mochi!?

Placing the mochi into Teru's mouth and watching her chew on it reminded Yuu of feeding a small pet. This thought made Yuu embarrassed too. At first, she thought she would just turn away and pretend nothing had happened, but what she didn't expect was Miyanaga Teru to return to staring expectantly at her once she finished the piece of mochi in her mouth. All Yuu could think of now was Kuro-chan's teary expression during the Nationals' vanguard match, because she sure wanted to display the same expression now. What...what should she do? The Champion looked like she wasn't just hungry for mochi, but she wanted to eat Yuu up too!

"Umm...err...Teru-san want to have some more?"

"...un. May I?"

If you say it like that, it wasn't as though Yuu could say no, right? Yuu just nodded, thinking that she would just push over the box of shingen mochi to fill Miyanaga Teru's stomach, but before she could do so, Teru closed her eyes, opened her mouth, and waited patiently to be fed once again!

Hey, hey, hey...are you sure you're the Champion that Fukuyo Kouko said wouldn't let go of your prey till its breath had ceased? Miyanaga Teru looked like she'd die happy so long as there were snacks in the netherworld!

"Ah..."

"Ah..."

Two high school seniors made such a childish sound as they continued their feeding game. By the time the box of shingen mochi was finally finished, Yuu's face was already soaked with sweat. She had almost expected steam to come out the top of her head! What should she do now...uuu...if Kuro-chan knew about this, she'd laugh at her for the rest of her life!

"Umm...so...Teru-san thought that was delicious?"

"Yes, very delicious."

"...Teru-san really likes shingen mochi, huh?"

"Yes. But this was better than the usual."

"...re...really?"

Miyanaga Teru seemed not to notice Yuu's stuttering, just replying calmly as she always did.

"Does Yuu-san like shingen mochi too?"

"Me?" A little taken back by Miyanaga Teru's willingness to carry on the conversation, Yuu was caught not quite knowing what to say until after she had thought it through a bit, "I guess it's okay. I prefer warmer foods."

"Is that so...?"

"Shingen mochi seems to have a special place in Teru-san's heart though, is that right?"

"Un...I guess you can say that." Miyanaga Teru stared at the empty container of shingen mochi, hesitated for a moment before finally continuing, "The first time I had shingen mochi was when Mother bought it from a business trip to Yamanashi. Originally, we thought we would share it as a family, but because Mother had suddenly wanted to play mahjong, she used it as a prize for the top winner to lure Saki and I into playing a game. In the end, I dropped Father's score down to negatives and was scolded the entire night, so it was a rather memorable event to me even as a child. Still, the shingen mochi was worth it in the end, because that box I had secretly shared with Saki was the most tasty thing I've had in my life."

Seeing Miyanaga Teru's expression soften, Yuu returned a smile, "Seems like Teru-san likes her sister even more..."

Though Miyanaga Teru had refused to acknowledge her sister until after the latest Interhighs, Yuu could see that there was an unspoken reason for this, and that despite this reason, the Champion still regretted her past actions even now that the siblings had reconciled.

"Isn't Yuu-san the same? In order to let Kuro-san hide from me, you gave up playing with the others and stayed with me instead."

"Well..." Yuu was about to deny, but gave up in the end, "I heard that Teru-san could see through others' deepest secrets - seems like that is true."

"That is too exaggerated. I have no such ability. This is just my intuition as a fellow older sister."

That made sense. An older sister would help resolve her younger sister's problems, no matter how insignificant they were - that was their natural instincts. Yuu was like that herself, so why would Miyanaga Teru be any different?

"Please excuse Kuro-chan's rudeness. She doesn't mean any harm; she just can't get over what had happened during the Nationals."

"It is fine. I understand."

"Though we were happy enough just being able to play with Haramura-san, Kuro-chan still blamed herself for the huge loss of points during the finals, thinking that our defeat was her responsibility. I've told her what I could, told her that it wasn't her fault, but in the end, there isn't all that much I can do to change her mentality. How she faces her future challenges is something only she can decide - after all, it's her own road to take and not mine."

"Though you're still worried, there's nothing to do but letting go?" Miyanaga Teru actually smiled, with it reliving memories sweet and bitter that resonated with Yuu's own thoughts.

"I guess so. Which older sister wouldn't want her younger sister to grow up stronger and more beautiful than ever? But once this wish comes true, we're no longer needed...I guess we can't help feeling a little lonely then, right? Teru-san?"

"Ah...are you asking me?" Realizing that Yuu was probably teasing her for her childish antics this morning, Teru blushed once more, her voice trailing off as she spoke, "Well...actually...I've always been a weak-minded person myself, I suppose...so I don't think my sister ever needed me, but...I hope there won't come a day when she no longer wants me around anymore..."

So even Miyanaga Teru could be honest? This Champion was certainly different from the one who wore that fake-looking commercial smile all day, huh? Teru-san...don't you worry that by defying all existing laws of cuteness, you'd tempt others into taking you home?

"Even if Saki-san no longer wants Teru-san, aren't there yet many others who'd want to take you away?" Only upon hearing what she had said did Yuu actually comprehend what slipped out her mouth, making her face flare in red too. Wow, it sure was hot today! If you didn't rehydrate, you'd get a heat stroke! As though thinking the same thing simultaneously, both Yuu and Teru grabbed the ginseng tea from the table and tried to gulp it down, but unfortunately for them, the steaming liquid wasn't summer's staple, cold genmaicha - the moment it scalded their tongue, they nearly spat it back out. They watched each other with teary eyes and could only say two words, "It's hot!"

_(Yuu/Teru story to be continued next time...)_


	4. Yuu x Teru - part 2

AN: Thanks Raine-chi, Vein's Simply Tired, EnigmaticPerson and Gu3st for the wonderful comments in the last chapter. Hope you're feeling better, Vein. I know those days. Hopefully something lighthearted like this collection of silly stories can ease off some stress from you; I know I certainly blew off some steam writing it! I'll put Ako/Teru and Kuro/Teru on my list of to-do pairings too, haha, though admittedly they'll be quite challenging to tackle. I'm sure it'll be fun. This second part to the Yuu/Teru story will have even more OOCness, as admittedly, it's quite hard to draw a connection between the two. I found the Sumire and Teru interactions in this part to be more natural, actually. I had quite a bit of trouble translating from Chinese to English this time, so plenty of subtle changes I made here and there to try and make it flow better. Either way, hope you'll like it anyway. Enjoy!

* * *

**2) The Warmth that's Solely Mine (Yuu/Teru)**

Part Two

The short journey to Nara quickly came to a close. If not for Saki sending over a photo she took of Teru being ordered by Kuro during the King Game to cover her face with fresh cream and roll on the floor pretending to be a cream puff, Teru might've forgotten the whole incident as she was busily applying for university. Come to think of it, it would be rather rude not to thank the Matsumi family once again for their generous hospitality - that bag of sweets from Nagano simply wouldn't cut it. As a result, Teru went to Hirose Sumire for the contact information of the Matsumi family.

"Don't you know the address? You lived there for a couple of days..." Sumire did not even hesitate to rebuke her request. Teru just put up her usual, plain stare by reflex.

"Haramura-san showed us the way. I actually don't know where is it."

"Well, then go find Haramura. Why come to me for an address?"

"I don't have Haramura-san's contact information either. Saki was the one who contacted her."

Sumire gave a long sigh. Whatever, if what she heard from Yuu was anything to go by, Teru used a kokushi musou hand to teach Haramura a lesson back when they were in Nara - from the looks of it, this Idiot's temper was still as childish as ever...

"Alright, alright, I'm about to send a letter to Matsumi-san as well, so just tell me what you want to tell her and I'll include it, okay?"

Teru thought silently for a while, then fished out a package of white powder from her bag, "I don't have much to say. I just want to give a present to Yuu-san in thanks for her hospitality."

Sumire jumped at the sight and pointed at the package in an indication for Teru to hold it farther away from her, "What are you trying to do? Threatening Matsumi-san?"

"Threatening?"

Looking at that Idiot's confused expression, Sumire figured this was probably yet another blatant display of Teru's social naivety. She seriously didn't know how Teru could even deny her relationship with Kiyosumi's captain - the whole Miyanaga family was composed of innocent-looking individuals who managed to be monstrously frightening, by accident.

"Don't you know that if you send mysterious white powder by mail, people would think it's anthrax?"

Teru blinked, pointing at the package, "It's ginseng powder...very healthy."

"Who would know that!?"

Teru thought deeply for another while, then reached into her bag once more. Black lines appeared on Sumire's forehead as she snorted, "You think you're Doraemon? What do you have in that bag anyways?"

"Ginseng tea bags."

Sumire shut her eyes and pinched the place between her brows to contain her frustration, "You do know I'm mailing a letter, right?"

"You can't mail this either? It's really light though..."

This wasn't even the issue, alright!?

In the end, when Matsumi Yuu received a letter from Sumire, what fell out of the envelope wasn't just the paper itself, but also several thin pieces of "unidenfied objects"...

"What is that, Oneechan!?" Both Yuu and Kuro were a little shocked, and not in a good way. Yuu picked up only the paper, then backed far away from the unidentified objects to read its contents, hoping to figure out what was going on...

The letter read like all the others Yuu had received from her opponents at the nationals. Sumire answered some of Yuu's questions about studying in Tokyo after high school graduation, but because it seemed that Sumire herself was planning on studying abroad, she wasn't sure about application details either, so she left Teru's contact information behind instead, saying, "Teru is also planning on attending university in Tokyo, so perhaps she would know better than myself. Besides, she has always wanted to thank Matsumi-san for your hospitality during winter break, so I'm sure she would not mind helping you. Ah, also, if there is something strange slipped into this envelope, then it's probably a present from Teru. I already tried to stop her from mailing ginseng powder, but she still wanted to help me mail this letter, so my guess is that Idiot decided to slip in something else. If it looks strange, just throw it out, I'll keep it a secret."

"Huh? The Champion sent this?" Kuro said after hearing the passages. Though still finding the act strange, the Matsumi sisters were less frightened now, going back to inspect the questionable flat things that fell out the envelope...

"Isn't it bubblegum...?" Yuu made a conclusion.

"Bubblegum?"

"Un," Yuu took a sniff from outside the wrapper, "Ginseng flavoured. Would it be the new line of bubblegum produced by the same company that makes the pro-mahjong rice crackers?"

"Isn't ginseng flavour limited to sales in Tokyo? Last time Oneechan wanted to buy some, but they said they don't sell it here..."

"Then don't we have all the more reason to try it?" Yuu picked up a piece, unwrapped it, and before Kuro could protest slipped it into her own mouth. Kuro stared at Yuu with teary eyes as though worried that Yuu would be poisoned or something, so Yuu just chewed on and blew a bubble, prompting Kuro to angrily poke it open.

"Oneechan is such a bully!"

Face plastered with exploded bubblegum, Yuu laughed, "Aren't you the one bullying me here?"

"I won't let Oneechan fall for such silly, weird temptations!"

"Ha...?"

Yuu admitted that she wasn't a beautiful, rich lady like Hirose Sumire - neither was she so gullible to "fall for silly temptations", per se. Even if Miyanaga Teru were a kidnapper, Yuu wouldn't be the ideal target, right? Let alone the fact that she was pretty darn sure the Champion herself was more like the type who'd follow anyone home if they promised her a piece of shingen mochi...

"Why would Teru-san want to 'tempt' me?"

"Of course it's for the breasts! Boobs! Look, Oneechan, you've got to admit, their entire family likes girls with big boobs, so you must be extra careful around them!"

Thinking about Haramura Nodoka, then comparing those impressive sights to herself, Yuu couldn't help but blush madly, "What are you saying, Kuro-chan!? You're...you're such an idiot!"

But just as Kuro had feared, much to Yuu's amusement, Teru did continue to send "silly temptations" their way after Yuu and she started communicating directly with each other. Then again, the gifts were amazingly fitting for someone of the Champion's personality: they were all snacks, all sweet, some were limited editions from specific places and times of the year, some were Teru's own culinary efforts. The most recent express-mailed package Yuu received were ginseng honey-flavoured shingen mochi.

"This is my first attempt at making this, I tried it and thought it tasted fine, so I decided to send it over for Yuu-san to try as well. It is said that ginseng can balance out the coldness of winter and warm the body upon consumption, so I thought it would be a good addition to a cold snack to make it more acceptable for Yuu-san's health. Hope you would like it."

Teru probably mistook Yuu's health as being as frail as Senriyama's vanguard, but this wonderful misunderstanding still managed to make Yuu feel particularly warm. Despite that the shingen mochi became a little mishaped by the shipping process, it still tasted especially delicious.

"Uuu...who would've thought the Champion uses her prize money on express-mailing mochi!?" Kuro complained.

Kuro wasn't the only one to be jealous about this incomprehensible act of exchanging gifts, even Sumire couldn't help but chide before she boarded her plane overseas, "Exactly what did you give to Matsumi-san? She even told me about that boat-load of snacks you kept sending."

"Yuu-san said it was delicious."

"Well...your meal-cooking skills are rather average, but admittedly your desserts are quite good."

"My sense of taste is good."

"That just makes you a glutton, okay? It's so unfair..." Sumire scrunched her eyebrows as she glared at Teru's slim figure, sighing, "Whatever, let's not talk about it. So why were you sending those gifts again? Even if you say it's in thanks for Matsumi-san's hospitality, isn't it a little too much? It'd cause her trouble."

"They're not mere tokens of my appreciation - they're things I want to share with a friend."

"Sharing?"

"Un. Yuu-san also mailed me snacks in exchange. They're very thoughtful and delicious."

Sumire was silent for a moment, contemplating, then breaking into a smile as though she just came to an unexpected realization, "But both Matsumi-san and you have never made something for me intentionally, even though I'm the one to first be friends with both of you..."

Teru's gaze locked onto Sumire with mild suprise, "Well...you don't like sweets, right?"

"Have you ever noticed what I like to eat then?"

Teru looked away, perhaps a little apologetic, muttering, "Sorry." But Sumire just continued smiling as before.

"I don't mean to blame you or anything, Idiot. I just want to do something for you before I leave...because Miyanaga Teru, do you know that I've always thought...you're the best friend of my life?"

Teru lifted her head up to meet Sumire's eyes again, words stripped from her, but Sumire remained calm and continued, "Well, Teru, what were your feelings when you made those snacks for Matsumi-san? Were you happy?"

"...Un."

"Do you know why?"

"That's..." Teru returned her gaze to the floor, face heating up a little, "...perhaps that's because when I imagine Yuu-san's smile when she eats my snacks...I'd...want to smile too."

Sumire nodded, hand reaching for Teru's shoulder, setting her weight on it to let Teru feel her presence, "When you meet someone who makes you happy when she is happy, maybe you shouldn't let go so easily, because there are good chances that you'll never find such person again, understood?"

As dense as Miyanaga Teru was, there was no way she would not understand what Sumire meant by now. After a moment of silence, she finally smiled, a genuine smile. "Sumire, you're lecturing again."

"Isn't that how I always am? This isn't the first day you've known me."

"I suppose you're right. From now on, I won't be able to listen to your lectures anymore...it'll be hard getting used to."

"What, are you a masochist?"

"Of course not." Teru denied Sumire's blunt retort, then quickly added, "But thank you...for this...for everything. I'll work hard, I promise."

"Un, but you better not lie this time," Sumire uttered, then with one last gaze, finally turned around, this time not looking back as she waved. "It's time for me to go now. Goodbye, Teru...be happy."

"You too. Farewell."

Spring passed, autumn came, time flashed by so quickly that in what seemed like a single blink of the eye, winter was here. Unused to Tokyo's cold, Yuu found it difficult to walk on the snow-covered path. If there were really a god, then could he shorten the distance from the lecture hall to the dorms? Though her roommate, Teru, said that she bought taiyaki and would heat it up for Yuu to eat once they got home, this trek was still harsh as ever...Yuu held tightly onto her thick, winter coat, hoping the bitter winds would then be unable to reach her trembling body.

"Cold?" Teru asked lightly. Yuu shook her head, trying to ease off Teru's worries, but the latter just knitted her brows together slightly, and said, "If you're cold, just tell me."

Teru pulled Yuu's hand over and shoved it into her own pocket, bringing their distance to zero. All of a sudden, Yuu felt like she broke out into a fever or something, the heat that rushed to her face almost unbearable. Though this person's name meant "to shine", it was still impossible for her to radiate as much heat as the sun, right?

"Teru..."

"Hmm?"

Yuu didn't know what prompted her to call her roommate's name out of the blue, and this was frankly not the first time she had done it in the past while. Maybe she just wanted to hear the syllables roll off her tongue, seeing as her own name always sounded so nice when Teru said it.

"Umm...I think...I'm warm already."

Teru nodded, "That's good. Let's eat taiyaki when we get back."

Yuu turned around, a strange sour feeling developing in her stomach against the darned taiyaki, "Since I'm already warm, eating or not won't make a difference anymore..."

"Oh. But it's still delicious..." Teru's voice trailed off when she noticed a drag in her forwards motion. Looking back, she saw Yuu standing there, head down, staring at the snow below, "What's wrong?"

"Since I'm already warm...would Teru just let go of me and leave me here?"

Silence. Yuu didn't even know why she blurted those words out, so what did she expect from Teru as a reply? After a long while, Teru came over, took her hand, and this time pulled her forward more forcefully than before, "You're thinking too much. If you keep at it, you'll catch a cold, so let's go back to the dorms first."

Yuu lifted her head towards Teru, raising her voice in a rare display of her temper, "You still didn't answer me!"

"I won't let go."

Yuu couldn't see Teru's face clearly, as it was turned towards the setting sun, so bright against her fiery red hair and eyes. She, the Champion, was not only warm, but also a blinding presence.

Such presence made her the center of everyone's attention, their classmates, their opponents, even the media.

Yet, how Yuu wished, this presence belonged to her and her alone.

"Then...will Teru be willing to be my personal heater? Even in the summer?"

"Un, if that is what Yuu wants."

Yuu dashed forward despite her clumsy strides, pulling Teru's arm tightly into her own embrace, and finally, for the first time, met the winter day with the brightest of her smiles, "If Teru's warmth is reserved for me..."

"Alright. It'll be just for Yuu."

_(Yuu/Teru story - End)_


	5. DarkSaki x Teru - part 1

AN: Thanks Gu3st, toki1, and Raine-chi for their generous comments in the last chapter. This chapter commences a new story that was requested by arkzero back in November of last year, but I haven't gotten around to it until now. Unlike the other chapters, this chapter was originally written as uploaded, rather than being a translation of what I first wrote in Chinese. Also, I have not finished writing this story before uploading, compared to the other chapters where I uploaded the first chapter only after the entire story was completed. The reason for this is because this story is probably a little longer and more involved than the others, so I found it easier to write in English and upload chapter by chapter as I finished them. This collection being a compilation of stories involving romantic pairings of Teru with other_ Saki_ characters, I'll probably incorporate some romantic elements in this Dark!Saki/Teru story as well. However, as arkzero requested, this story will focus on Teru's repentance, as well as Saki's healing and the siblings eventually coming to terms with their past to embrace their futures together. With that said, please enjoy. Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.

* * *

**3) The Black Lily's Reflection (Dark!Saki/Teru)**

Part One

The year was 20XX, the place was Tokyo

At this day and age, mahjong was one of the most popular games, with millions of players worldwide. Professional players had an avid fan following, and every year, there were national championships for students too.

She was once the pinnacle of high school mahjong all others strived to reach, but against all expectations, she had mysteriously withdrawn from her third Interhigh individuals tournament and disappeared from the mahjong table since.

Five years later, as Miyanaga Teru made her way out of the arrival area of Narita Airport, nobody recognized her aside from her old friend, Hirose Sumire.

"Welcome back," Sumire uttered, the sound of her deep voice oddly comforting. Though they had kept in contact during Teru's college studies in London, it was the first time in a long while since hearing those calming pitches in-person.

"Your work?"

"Don't worry about it. I have no meetings scheduled for the afternoon."

The media probably would've never guessed Teru's career path, pursuing a degree in English Literature in hopes of teaching the foreign language back home, but Sumire's was rather predictable. As heiress of the multi-billion Hirose Industries, it was only right for her to join her family business after finishing her degree in commerce.

"So?" Sumire easily broke the silence that often hung between their interactions, bringing back Teru's focus from the food court in the distance, "Should I take you to your place now or do you have somewhere else you want to go to first?"

Despite the years away from each other, nothing had changed. As though she were still Shiraitodai's club president and Teru its ace, Sumire still acted like Teru's guardian or something. When the former champion informed Sumire that she would be returning to Tokyo upon graduation, it felt just right for Sumire to make all the arrangements - from the flight bookings to Teru's housing. The only thing missing might be to find her a job, but even that too, Sumire probably already had something in mind.

Teru paused her steps. Maybe only Sumire realized this, but Teru might be some sort of single-celled organism - her mind could only focus on performing a single task at once, be it mahjong or eating or reading a book. She patiently waited for Teru to finally open her mouth to speak, "Awai called a week ago. She said she wants to see me immediately after I arrive."

"I don't think she means that quite so literally. You can drop off your suitcase first."

Teru looked confused. Aren't literature majors supposed to take things more...figuratively?

Sumire sighed, "It's up to you, but as you can see, Awai isn't here. She's in the hospital, so if you insist, I suppose we can at least get her a fruits basket on the way."

"Hospital?"

"She overexerted herself in a match last night. Nothing serious. Just a fever that hasn't quite gone all the way down yet."

This time, Teru just stood there with no intention of even moving. Mahjong. Again. She didn't know whether she still loved the game like she used to, or came to hate it. Or maybe it was fear - the fear of confronting all her past ties to the tiles. She just wanted to run away.

And Sumire knew. That was probably why she hadn't brought up Awai's condition until now. Teru could guess that there was something more to it too. Awai might've been inexperienced and cocky during the 71st Interhigh, but she had natural talent, and her skill had improved tremendously in her subsequent years as Shiraitodai's captain. For her to overexert herself in a professional match probably meant that her opponent was monstrous.

"...who defeated her?" Teru finally asked, much to Sumire's surprise. The latter surveyed her friend's darkened expression, the gaze hidden behind red bangs to stare at the ground - didn't Teru already have an answer?

"Miyanaga Saki."

* * *

_"Kan."_

_This wasn't the 71st Interhigh, and neither was Oohoshi Awai a 15-year-old teenager. Though her hand had started at tenpai, she chose not to declare riichi, waiting silently instead. Even now that she had made a kan before the corner of the wall, she had no intentions of throwing away the rinshanpai of 1-wan. To begin with, she declared kan only to steal the rinshanpai from Miyanaga Saki. Holding it in her hand, Awai discarded a 4-wan that matched what was already in Miyanaga's discard pile._

_This set her back to iishanten, but so be it. If there were something Awai hadn't changed about the way she had played since that devastating defeat by Miyanaga so many years ago, it was her trust in her intuition. She couldn't be wrong. The suffocating pressure in the air, seemingly about to crack the mahjong table itself, was definitely Miyanaga's presence, and might she add, Miyanaga wasn't even showing her fangs just yet._

_Sweat dripped down Awai's nape to soak the logo of "Tokyo's Hirose Dolphins" on the back of her uniform. All throughout the east round, none other than Miyanaga had been winning. Now that it was Miyanaga's dealership in east 4, it took Awai all she had to push the game to a draw, yet seven times in a row, Miyanaga still managed to continue dealing by revealing a waiting hand._

_The other players had drawn, followed by Miyanaga who set the tile into her hand, pulled out another tile and discarded. Was Miyanaga changing her wait? Or was that a new effective tile, meaning that she wasn't even at tenpai before? Awai didn't know, but what she did know was that the pressure in the air wasn't lessening. Now that it was her turn again, she drew in a 6-pin that completed her waiting sequence. She then discarded her remaining 4-wan to tenpai for a 1-wan to finish the pair in her hand. At least there were high chances 1-wan was still available, as the remaining players didn't seem keen on the wanzu suit, leaving only Miyanaga and herself. From previous experience, the rinshanpai should be Miyanaga's waiting tile. There would be no use waiting for a 1-wan if she had the other three in her hand, unless she was aiming for consecutive kans again, but it had been years since Miyanaga Saki had pulled off something like that. _

_...or not._

_Awai couldn't figure out why, but there was something undeniably dangerous about her assumption. She knew it!_

_Miyanaga's turn was two draws away. She had to stop her. She had to stop her from drawing._

_The next player discarded. _

_"Pon!" Awai called for the useless south wind, the last of its kind, and lined a pair with it to the side of the table, keeping a single one still standing closed. This completely broke her menzen status and, with no choice but to wreck her own hand for a safe discard now, Awai gave up all chances of winning at the very last stretch of this game. Still, her shaking hand gripped the 6-pin she had long waited for and just received in her last draw, discarding it without hesitation. When she was young, she cared only to win. But now that she was young no longer, she cared more that she would not lose._

_Her vision was blurring into the darkness beyond the floodlights, her breaths growing heavy with heat. She should feel relieved that she had stopped Miyanaga, but something was telling her not to place so much hope in her luck. There was no luck in the face of a true monster, no...a true demon. There was only despair - a ravine so deep you should be falling forever, yet you'd still feel the pain waiting at the end of that fall, the pain of being torn mercilessly apart upon impact._

_The next player drew and discarded, and the tile Miyanaga should've drawn would be shifted to the player after. But..._

_"Chii."_

_This couldn't be._

_The world flickered. Awai was becoming too tired to think, but with the last of her concentration, she looked beyond the discards at the opened calls that lay on the other two players' sides. They all pointed at Miyanaga._

_Awai finally raised her gaze to the two opponents and found, to her expectation, that their eyes were blank._

_They must've been blank for a long time, fallen to Miyanaga's control._

_At some point, Miyanaga must've drawn that fated tile and set her hand down, its clatters rang with her voice. "Tsumo, junsei chuuren poutou," she said. How fitting...the nine lanterns that lighted each stretch, one by one leading to the very gates of hell._

_To think she had stopped Miyanaga by stealing the 1-wan rinshanpai. That was her mistake. If she had not made a kan, she would not have drawn the 1-wan, which she kept in favour of the 4-wan, and would've tsumo around the corner. Actually, if she had been more daring, she could've still discarded the 1-wan and Miyanaga wouldn't have been able to win off her because she wasn't even at tenpai till her draw after Awai's kan. That was right, Awai had fallen into Miyanaga's trap. Miyanaga wasn't going to make a kan herself, nor was she going to win off anyone. When she finally came to tenpai, she was on a nine-way wait, and the previous discard of 4-wan would've put her in furiten. But why did she discard 4-wan early in the game then? It was all to trick Awai into thinking 4-wan was the only safe tile to discard, so she did, keeping the 1-wan even if it broke up her hand. This bought Miyanaga Saki the time to reach tenpai then self-draw that winning tile._

_This wasn't the Miyanaga of those faraway days anymore._

_Awai closed her eyes and fell. The realization that she too hadn't escaped was too much for her to bear..._

_...but perhaps only Oohoshi Awai herself would know that what she lamented wasn't her loss, it was the loss of the mahjong she had once played, however similar the outcome, those years ago against who was once the smiling captain of Kiyosumi._

_If only she could watch the flower bloom again, not this black lily, but what had been the most beautiful and delicate she had ever seen..._

* * *

When Awai opened her eyes again, it was dusk - the light that filtered through the blinds matched the hue of that person's hair, just as she had remembered.

"Teru?"

The person seated by the bedside turned her eyes from the magazine she was reading towards Awai, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. Just got a little tired last night, but Sumire-senpai insisted on sending me here. It's not as though I'm Onjouji Toki..."

Teru's eyes narrowed, and unlike those times of old when Awai would pursue the subject, she kept silent this time. Maybe Sumire-senpai's mentality was catching up to her, or maybe she was just growing out of her once naivety.

"Speaking of which, where is Sumire-senpai?"

"She went to get us dinner."

"Ah...did Teru visit your new home yet? I picked the place with Sumire-senpai, and I can bet with my hundred years of experience you'll like it very much!"

"I haven't gone yet, but I'm sure I'll like it. Thank you."

The air stilled as silence set in. Then, Teru closed the magazine, revealing its cover - it was the latest issue of _Weekly Mahjong Today_, and on the front page was none other than Miyanaga Saki.

"Awai..."

"Hmm?"

"Do you...still like mahjong?"

Maybe it was the magazine's headline "The Mahjong from Hell: Miyanaga Sends Opponent to Hospital with Nine Lanterns Yakuman", or maybe it was her intuition, as sharp as ever, but whatever the reason, Awai knew she couldn't hide her feelings any longer.

"I do not dislike the game. I dislike her. Or rather, I dislike who she has become."

When Miyanaga Teru chose not to say a word, instead casting her still hidden gaze on the cover image so similar to her own like she were staring at a mirror, Awai continued.

"The 136 tiles will always be the 136 tiles, no blame can be put on them. It's with our very hands that we use them for our own purposes.

And that purpose should be winning. There is nothing wrong with that. But to win a game you lose yourself, doesn't that defeat the meaning of playing?

I can't accept that. I don't want to accept that, yet...yet why? Why can't I convey this to her?"

Losing yourself to win. Awai was right, there didn't seem to be a meaning to it, but Teru understood, no, she knew, that having no meaning was the point of playing in this manner. For a split second, it was as though she had returned to the 71st Interhigh, the blinding lights above her, the silent expanse below, the faces of her opponents but a blur to her eyes. She predicted, or even dictated her opponents' every move without looking at them. Draw after draw after draw, the tiles she wanted came as she expected. A brush of her thumb across the tile surface, a turn to flip it right-side up so she could see its pattern - iipin, the winning tile, lying still between her fingertips. There was no joy in calling tsumo, exposing her hand, stating the points she had just won. It was all so routine, just as she liked it, for she wished life were so as well, so plain and controllable it made her numb just living it.

"If what you cannot accept...continues to play out again and again...if, no matter how much you want to reach out to your opponents with your love for the game, your efforts would still not make a difference, would you still keep playing, Awai?"

Awai pondered. If it were herself from her highschool days, perhaps she would not hesitate to answer positively, but now, she wasn't so sure.

"I would like to say yes, but who knows? Even if I keep playing, perhaps there would come one day when I get too tired of trying to reach her with my message. To be honest, maybe I've already become like her, playing the game for winning without even remembering what it was like to play when I first started."

Teru did not say anything, her face still devoid of expressions, but something in her gaze as it landed on the magazine cover might have changed, something that grew stronger, impossibly powerful for someone seemingly so lacking in emotions. The darkness of those crimson pools, contrasting with the shining lines of sunset reflecting off her irises - those eyes bore what was possibly a deep sadness she had always kept hidden, mixed with regret and remorse, anger and betrayal. Awai couldn't read it, but she recognized it. That same gaze was what she saw just yesterday.

"She wasn't like that right after you left, Teru," Awai broke the silence.

She saw Teru struggle to ignore her comment, but to no avail. Teru did not lift her gaze from the magazine cover, but that twitch of her shoulders, that clench of her fists, there was no denying - she was listening.

"After you left, she kept playing. The 72nd Interhigh, 73rd Interhigh...at first, she'd still force herself to rinshan, in between playing in a style that's kinda like she's imitating you, but slowly, as she played as a professional, her style became more manipulative, yet more hollow...

...I think she might've been waiting for you all this time, maybe even now, but she might've even forgotten about it herself."

Awai somewhat wanted to say more, but when she was interrupted by Sumire's opening of the door, bringing with her zaru soba and onigiri from the convenience store, she decided to swallow her words and instead hound at her senpai for food.

"What about cake? Su-mi-re-se-n-pa-i!"

"You had a fever just last night and you already want snack food?"

"Cake is not snack food! It's dessert!"

"Like there is a difference..."

"Of course there is a difference! It's sugary and creamy and..."

"Precisely the reason why you should not be eating such thing now. Just sit still and eat your onigiri!"

"Sumire-senpai is so mean! Teruuuuuuuu...Sumire-senpai is bullying me again..."

Teru finally looked up to see Sumire shoving a rice ball into Awai's mouth. She softened her gaze and showed a slight curl on the edges of her lips.

"I do believe there is a difference between dessert and snacks..."

"Oh you...always pampering this little brat," Sumire retorted.

"Regardless, I agree that Awai should probably refrain from both in her current condition. Don't worry, I'll also just eat onigiri, so you will not be alone, Awai."

With that said, Teru took up another rice ball, unwrapped it, and started taking bites from one of the pointed sides. Awai pouted a little, but followed, prompting Sumire to sigh in relief. Perhaps Sumire was still complaining in her mind about how she had to babysit the two mahjong monsters even now that they were both adults, not to mention she was almost the same age herself anyways, or maybe that chiding smile she was wearing just betrayed her secret joy in returning to an everyday life so similar to what they had back in their days at Shiraitodai. She too opened the box of zaru soba and dug in.

The day wore away to night. After the doctor made his round at the end of visitation hours, informing them that Awai was doing fine and would likely be discharged in the morning after some last tests, Teru and Sumire took their leave, with Sumire offering to drive Teru to her new apartment.

The Tokyo night sky was clear, but stars were hardly seen behind the city's bright lights. Traffic meandered slowly along the busy streets, making frequent stops at intersections where pedestrians came to and fro even as the night deepened. Sumire pulled up to one such crossing, blue eyes staring ahead while her long fingers tapped on the sides of her steering wheel. Teru looked out the window of the passenger seat, recognizing the scenery around her as that of the district close to the train station.

"Ne..." her voice sounded, so quietly that she was a little surprised when she heard an answer from Sumire.

"What is it?"

"The shinkansen...does it still run at this hour?"

The green light lit up, and Sumire pressed down on the gas pedal, moving the vehicle forward once more. Teru didn't seem to care that Sumire dismissed her topic, but against her expectations, Sumire changed lanes after the intersection and pulled over when she found the opportunity.

"To Nagano, you mean?" Sumire finally answered, pulling out a ticket from her purse and handing it to Teru. The latter blinked.

"How did you..."

"I merely took a guess. If you didn't ask, I would've just gone by myself, maybe to enjoy some authentic Shinshu soba as a midnight snack or something."

"...Bourgeoise."

"Before you complain about me being rich, perhaps you should hurry up and go catch the train before you miss it. After all, that's why you came back, right?"

Sumire stared straight into the crimson eyes stained violet from the moonlight, watching that gaze shift in avoidance like the strands of her hair dancing away from the night breeze. She stopped smiling, hardening her blue counterparts that fixed themselves on her friend's visage.

"Miyanaga Teru, you've run away for long enough. Five years. Five years and you can't let go, then perhaps you should give up trying to toss it all away. Go. Go retrieve what is important to you. I'm tired of watching you linger in this...this limbo you've self-created."

The door lock on Teru's side popped open. She hesitated, but did eventually pull the handle to release the door, exiting onto the sidewalk. She took two steps forward onto the street, then paused, and finally turned around to face Sumire.

"Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah. Just leave. You're in the way of my car."

Teru nodded, then ran, ran like she had not done so since she had left Nagano those many years ago. The feel of cold wind blowing, of the scream of her lungs and leg muscles burning, she had almost forgotten how good it felt, how free it felt to run, not from something, but towards something. The view before her was clear like never before, the winding streets and flashing lights and people whose faces were so happy and hopeful. How beautiful this world really was! How much she wished she had always realized this!

Sumire watched her figure vanish around the corner, then leaned backwards, stretching her back before taking out her cell to give a call. After a short ring, the other side picked up.

"Hello?"

"Awai? It's me."

"Oh, it's just Sumire-senpai? I was thinking who'd be bothering a hospital patient so late at night..."

"I've news that I thought you'd want to know. If you don't want to..."

"Wait! Is it about...Teru?"

"She's going back to Nagano."

Awai turned to stare out the window behind her bed, lifting her hand to trace the outlines of Tokyo's cityscape with her fingers. _If what she could not accept...continued to play out again and again...if, no matter how much she wanted to reach out to her opponents with her love for the game, her efforts would still not make a difference..._ She recalled those words Teru had said, and came to the conclusion that it would indeed be frustrating, yes, frustrating that she could not stop Miyanaga Saki from turning into who she was now, but at least she had the chance to continue trying, the chance to continue playing. But if Miyanaga Saki just disappeared overnight?

Like how Teru had disappeared after the team competition of the 71st Interhigh?

It would not ease her frustration. It would not solve the problem. Awai wouldn't be able to just move on and play with the same enthusiasm, the same hope that her games would make everyone happy.

"I'm glad...she finally sees it," Awai answered Sumire at long last.

"Yeah."

She squinted, letting the city lights blur in her vision, then blinked to clear it all again.

Was Teru watching the same scenery from where she was too?

_(Dark!Saki/Teru story to be continued next time...)_


	6. DarkSaki x Teru - part 2

AN: Thanks zero, Gu3st, toki1, Raine-chi, KJacket, sleep, Vein's Simply Tired, and the guest reviewer for their kind comments in the last chapter. As much as I'd like to expand this into a separate entry instead of putting it in this short story collection, I actually have another (long) Saki/Teru story in the works, so I won't have time to write this one out beyond the planned four chapter run. Also, even though the first two stories in this collection were relatively light-hearted, there will be more dark stories coming up after this one. As I've mentioned briefly in the ch1 author's notes, this is just a collection of random short stories featuring Teru as the lead - you can treat them as completely separate from each other. Anyway, thanks again for the support! Hope you'll enjoy this chapter. I'll try to update the next chapter on Dec 4th.

* * *

**3) The Black Lily's Reflection (Dark!Saki/Teru)**

Part Two

It was already late night by the time Teru arrived at Nagano. Deciding it was probably not a good idea waking up her family at this hour, she stayed at the station.

The other passengers on her train had scattered and departed. The last train rolled off the platform amidst the rumbles and screeches of its wheels against the rails. Silence returned, leaving her with nothing but her own thoughts.

The late spring breeze was not overly cold, carrying with it the scent of distant blossoms. It reminded her of a time long ago, a time of many struggles, but they always ended in memories as sweet as the flowers.

Mahjong.

It had always been an integral part of her life, right?

By the time her sister was old enough to learn the tile names, they had started playing as a family.

That was before they had moved to Nagano, when their father still worked at an office and their mother stayed home with them. Even her mother's scolding about how they played their tiles had more of a joking tone back then. It was just a game after all. A game to be enjoyed amongst family.

She looked up at the sign bearing the station name. Yes. The first time she came here, things changed. That was when she was just starting sixth grade. Their father was laid off by the press company he worked for. The only way they could make a living off the freelance writing work he found was to move into the house their late grandmother had left them in Nagano. At first it didn't seem so bad. Nagano had a charm that Tokyo lacked - the fresh air, blue mountains, and green forests. Her sister and she used to play by the river, where golden fishes darted between the rocks lining the bottom of crystaline waters. But even that simple life was becoming difficult to sustain with their father's meagre income. Their mother returned to the labour force, often working long hours, and the rare mahjong games they played whenever they had time together became unpleasant.

Mahjong became not just a game, but a tool, a ticket to a better life. But it wasn't a free ticket. It came with the price of grueling training only accomplishable should they be serious about playing. They now played with their New Years money. If they lost the game, they lost the money too. She remembered how her sister was forced to give up her beloved west wind to win, the way their mother complimented her despite that she was on the verge of tears. Their father recognized this and got into a heated argument with her. It was just a game. There was no point in being so serious! But their mother disagreed. It wasn't just a game. It was their hope of returning to a better life their father now failed to provide. But the siblings didn't care whether it was a game or a tool...they just wanted to play together, that was all.

She remembered how her sister snuck into her bed that night. Her eyes were swollen and red. "I can't win and I can't lose...I don't know what to do anymore...I hate this game!" Her sister had said. She told her that it was okay. Didn't her sister have one last trick up her sleeve? When her sister was six, she had learned how to calculate the scoring, and with it she learned how to play with the aim of getting plus-or-minus-zero. If her sister played like that again, then she wouldn't lose her New Years money, and wouldn't be scolded for winning either.

"But it's hard!"

"Don't worry, I'll help you."

She held her sister close. What only Miyanaga Teru knew was that it wasn't just her sister finding comfort in their shared warmth, but herself too.

Before, she didn't take too much liking or disliking towards mahjong. It was something she played because her mother wanted her to, and it was fun occasionally stealing her sister's kan with a kokushi musou. But that night, she prayed to the tiles. She prayed they would give her the strength to protect who she held dear. In return, she would devote her deepest love to them.

But that was a selfish wish. She selfishly wanted her sister to rely on her, so she could find worth in her own existence.

Deep down, she wanted to be loved by her family. But now that it was impossible for her parents to hold her the same way they had done when she was a child, she turned to her sister - the only one she had left.

For her sister's sake, she started winning. If she kept winning, their mother would no longer force her sister to train. Her sister would then be free. But when that really did happen, when their mother let her sister play with their visiting cousin by the river instead of playing mahjong, and the way her sister showed a bright smile because of this, why did she feel hurt?

She wanted her sister to smile solely for her.

At what point did she become like this?

"Teru, let's return to Tokyo," Mother had said to her. "Just the two of us."

She was lost. She didn't know what to say. Should she agree? Should she not agree?

She didn't want to leave. She wanted to be with her sister forever.

But when she took her sister to the hill on the city outskirts, she saw how free she was, dancing between the white flowers under the sunlight.

"You know Rinshan Kaihou?"

"Hmm?"

"The mahjong yaku. It means flowers blooming on the mountain ridge."

"Blooming? That's like my name!"

"Yes, that's right."

They were blooming, just like her sister. Strong, beautiful, free.

She couldn't keep clinging to her sister. Flowers were beautiful in vases, but they were more beautiful on the fields where they could flaunt their colours even in the wind and rain.

"So be like the flowers high on the mountains beyond the tree line, Saki. Bloom bravely just like them."

It had been eight years since.

Things happened. Many things. Some left scars in their lives, but they shouldn't have severed the bond between them.

She had severed the bond of her own volition. For her sister's freedom? What a glorious excuse. The truth was she ran away.

She ran away from her responsibilities. She ran away from her feelings. But things eventually caught up with you. In Miyanaga Teru's case, her sister came for her. Not once, but twice.

The first time she hid. The second time she couldn't hide no more.

The 71st Interhigh, they met again. On the stage, under the floodlights, she saw her sister win Kiyosumi its first national championship.

She had wanted to stay in the waiting room, but it was impossible. She was the defending individuals champion. The media expected her to come. If it were just her personal reputation, she would have tossed it away in the blink of an eye. But it was her team that had lost. She had to take their defeat with grace for the sake of everybody else.

"Oneechan..."

Her sister called her softly, so softly that perhaps she was the only one who could hear it. She knew her sister wasn't sure if she would respond. She knew her sister was so kind that she left her the option of not responding.

And she took that option.

Miyanaga Teru had no sister. She didn't deserve a sister.

"Congratulations on the victory. Your performance was spectacular, Captain of Kiyosumi. It was our honour to play with you."

The hand that took her offered handshake was one she would never forget. It was cold. It was shaking. It was so weak it would've slipped if she didn't grip onto it.

Perhaps that was exactly what Miyanaga Saki had wanted to do. To slip out of the handshake and run away.

Because that was actually what Teru had wanted too.

Teru stared at her hand, pale under the moonlight. What kind of conviction did she have that day to hold on long enough for the dozens of cameras to finish flashing, capturing the greatest regret of her life on film?

She couldn't even deny it happened. The country of Japan was her witness.

So she left. She left her sister, she left her country, she left her past all behind.

But she couldn't leave herself. So long as she lived, Miyanaga Teru was still Miyanaga Teru. That was something that couldn't be changed.

_"Five years and you can't let go, then perhaps you should give up trying to toss it all away."_

Sumire was right. She was even a failure when it came to running away. She ran away when she was fourteen. She ran away when she was seventeen. She was now twenty-two - what had all that running away done for her? Nothing, except hurting every person she once held dear. She wasted a quarter of her life bleeding the hearts of her loved ones.

Things didn't have to be always about herself. It didn't matter what kind of feelings she held for her sister. What mattered was that she should be there for her, as was the duty she should fulfill.

She got up from her seat. It was time. The first bus would be coming to the station soon. She made her way down the stairs and onto the street, and after a short wait, the vehicle pulled into the stop. She paid her fare and sat down near the back by one of the windows. Soon, a few others joined her, but as it was still very early and the route was not a busy one, the bus departed with less than a quarter of its seats full.

Most of the others tried to sleep as soon as they got onto the bus, but Teru didn't. Instead, she trained her eyes outside where dawn was just breaking across the horizon. Golden light cracked the darkness, expanding gradually upwards. The clouds that were once black became streaked with pink, then exploded in bright orange flames when the sun finally appeared. It rose, illuminating the waters, the fields, the mountains. She could now see the city waking up to the day. The street lights switched off. More cars appeared on the roads. Curtains were pushed aside to let the sunlight stream into residences. A girl in uniform came out her front door, a piece of toast dangling from her mouth. If she had not been running away all this time, would she have been like that girl, heading off to school with her sister in her hand?

She knew she could not make up for the missing time. She just wanted to do something...to make things right again.

* * *

The roads winded up the rugged landscape of rural Nagano. Her stop came shortly, and after getting off, she traced a familiar path to the small two-storey house that was her home. She fished out her keys from her purse, and held onto the one she hadn't used in years. She fit it in, turned the lock, and opened the door.

She heard steps coming from the living room and met them halfway. Her father was standing there, the cigarette in his mouth nearly dropped when he saw her.

"Teru."

"I'm home."

There was a second when they just stood there watching each other, but after that short time elapsed, Miyanaga Kai came forward and held his daughter in his arms. She could not see his face, but it was streaked with tears. He smiled more brightly than he had in years.

"Welcome home."

"I'm sorry I haven't visited for such a long time."

"No, no, it's okay. I'm happy enough that you've come this time."

He took Teru to the living room and told her to sit while he made tea from the kitchen. She wanted to do it instead, but her father insisted. "You must be tired from your commute. Just sit down," he said. She could only nod and do as she was told.

Teru had always thought her father's tea was a little too dilute - it tasted more like water. Objectively speaking, it was nothing compared to what Shibuya Takami used to prepare for the Torahime Team, but at this moment, her father's tea was the most delicious she had ever tasted. It was warm and sweet. It felt like home.

"How has it been in Tokyo?" he asked, then as though remembering something, he added, "Actually, you've been studying in London for the past four years, right?"

"It was nice. Both Tokyo and London."

She wasn't lying, but what she failed to mention were all those times her dreams would carry her back to the mountains and waters of Nagano, and the smiles of her father and sister.

"Are you back for a vacation? Or are you going to stay?"

"I won't be staying in Nagano, but I will be staying in the country. My friends found me a place in Tokyo."

"That's good to hear," her father replied with relief. "When you have time, do come by for another visit. You're always welcome here."

"I will. Thank you."

There were thousands of things Miyanaga Kai had wanted to tell his daughter when he saw her on the television screen during the Interhigh championships those years ago, but now, all of them escaped his mind. He was too happy to see her. And it seemed like the emotions betrayed on his face were more than anything he could've said in words.

"How is your mother?" he asked instead.

"She is good."

There wasn't too much Teru could've said about her mother, as they barely kept in contact during the years she was studying in London. When she withdrew from the 71st IH's individuals competition, her mother had been less than pleased, but there was nothing she could've done about Teru's decision given that she had received a full scholarship to study abroad. But Teru's track record did win her mother a well-paying job coaching the Shiraitodai Team after her departure. What she knew about her mother in recent years was mainly what she heard from Awai.

"That's good then," he answered simply. He had also sensed Teru's reluctance to talk more about her mother, so he didn't press the issue.

Maybe it was time for Teru to bring up the subject. She would've hesitated if she could, but she knew she shouldn't this time. She had made her decision. It was time for her to face what she hid from for so long.

"And how is Saki?" she asked.

Her father was mildly surprised, but nodded knowingly.

"You heard about her latest match with Oohoshi-san?"

She narrowed her gaze towards the ground. So her father knew too.

"Yes. I didn't watch it, but I heard from Awai."

"That's how she has been for the past couple of years. To be honest, I don't know much more than you. She has moved out since graduating from high school."

"I see."

She had been hoping that her sister would still be living with her father, then she could say everything that needed to be said here and now. But would she just give up like this? No. She wouldn't.

"You know where she stays now?"

Her father smiled, "She is staying at the Nagano Evergreens' dormitory. I'll write down the address for you."

Her father bent over to scribble on a piece of paper on the low table. His back looked so fragile, his once dark hair now speckled with white. She took the paper he handed her and held it close.

"I don't think they have a game today, so maybe you should head over now."

Teru's lips curled up in a rare smile, "Am I that much of a nuisance that you want to get rid of me so desperately, Father?"

"That's clearly not what I meant," he answered with a chuckle, scratching the back of his head. Teru shared the laugh before returning to a serious expression.

"I will be back. It's the anniversary of Nami's passing next month. Let's visit her together."

Her father nodded and put his hand on her shoulder, "I will gladly come with you...and Saki."

"I will bring her along."

* * *

Teru took the bus back the way she had come. The Nagano Evergreens was a professional mahjong team sponsored by a lumber company, and its head office in Nagano City also had an employee dormitory which the team members could freely use. Before, there were few people visiting the building, but after Miyanaga Saki seized the professional league individuals title, it was often frequented by the media, which led to tougher security measures around the area.

After introducing herself at the reception and asking for access, she was told to wait while they called Miyanaga Saki to confirm that she would be willing to take a visitor. After a moment, the receptionist returned telling her that Saki was at practice and was unavailable to take a call now, so she would have to still wait a little longer. Teru nodded, sitting back down at the waiting area to read the book she had brought. It was then that a familiar person happened to stop by, a shocked expression lighting up her face when she saw the former IH champion.

"Miyanaga-san."

Teru looked up to the young woman standing in front of her, long pink hair pulled into a ponytail behind her well-endowed figure.

"Haramura Nodoka-san," she greeted in return.

Haramura's gaze was flint-hard and bore no intention of backing down.

"What are you doing here?"

But Teru was unfazed. She wasn't going to back down either.

"To see Saki," she answered simply.

"You think she wants to see you?"

"I don't know. Which is why I am here to find out."

Haramura's calm face was starting to crack. She grit her teeth.

"Then let me ask this in a different way, Miyanaga-san. Do you think you deserve to see her?"

Teru stood up, letting her height dominate Haramura. She looked down to meet her gaze with equally hard eyes.

"That is something neither you nor I get to decide."

Haramura looked away, "I know that. I merely don't want her to be hurt again."

Her voice was weak. It was unclear whether Haramura was really addressing Teru at all when she said that, but then she turned to face her again.

"Which is why regardless of what she thinks, I will stop you from seeing her."

"Your intentions matter not to me, Haramura-san."

Haramura didn't answer her, turning on her feet to return to the interior of the building.

* * *

Teru waited. She waited and waited and waited. By late afternoon, she was told she would have to return another day, as Saki was still unavailable. She did not resist, silently leaving the building to grab dinner from a nearby ramen store, then returned to sitting at the bench outside the front entrance.

What she didn't know was that Saki was watching her from one of the upper floors of the building.

Maybe Haramura Nodoka would call this unscientific, but Saki could feel her sister's presence the moment she arrived.

"Saki-san, what are you doing?" Nodoka asked when she stepped into their shared dorm room after taking a shower at the communal bathroom. Saki calmly shut the curtains.

"Just closing the window. It was getting a little cold."

"That's a good idea. Even though it's almost summer, it's still quite chilly during the night."

Saki nodded, walking over to her bunk. Nodoka watched her from behind, noting how Saki had changed since then. Her features were still young. Her hair was worn in a similar style, just slightly longer to dangle down to her shoulders. Her frame was still small, but not so weak and unconfident now, instead holding a certain strength to it. But those were all small things. What changed the most about Saki was that she no longer smiled.

"Saki-san?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you sometimes...think it would be really nice to go back in time?"

Saki could tell from Nodoka's question that she already knew about her sister's arrival, but she feigned innocence. "That's a strange question coming from you, Nodoka-san. Going back in time isn't something that can happen in reality, right?"

"I guess you're right."

"Is Buchou done using the shower? I was going to use it after her."

"She went in after I was done, so I suppose she's just about finished now."

"Alright. Thanks."

Saki headed off to the bathroom. She wanted to disregard the question Nodoka had asked her, but it kept ringing in her mind. Going back in time? Till when? To the time of the 71st Interhigh? Would things have been different if she hadn't participated? She wouldn't be here, that was for sure. But at least that scene following her victory would never have happened.

But maybe it was for the better.

At least now, even with her sister just outside the building, she was able to stay who she was.

She didn't want to contemplate why her sister came here. If she did, she wouldn't be able to stop herself from wishing wishes that would never come true. And she was done with wishing. She didn't ever want to give anyone the chance to dash her hopes apart again.

* * *

Takei Hisa liked to wake up early.

It was a habit she developed while still in high school. Early in the morning, the air was cold but fresh, all was calm and quiet - it gave her time to think over things, to notice and better appreciate her surroundings. It seemed like she wasn't the only one.

This morning, when Hisa came out of the dormitories to have a stroll before breakfast was served, she saw someone else at the front entrance.

It wasn't quite accurate to say she just noticed this person's presence now. Given how strange Nodoka had been acting yesterday, she surmised that something had happened. After asking around a bit, she confirmed her suspicions. Miyanaga Teru had come looking for her sister. But since Nodoka and Saki were both keeping quiet about it, she pretended to not know anything.

Even now, Hisa turned back before Miyanaga Teru could notice her. It wasn't that she didn't want to meddle with this affair. She was Takei Hisa after all. Everybody's business was her business. How else could she become the student congress president back then? But she wasn't going to confront Miyanaga Teru head-on like Nodoka had undoubtedly done. Given that this person was persistent enough to come back today (or had she left at all yesterday?), simply telling her to leave wasn't going to do anything.

Besides, was this what Saki really wanted?

So she waited for her chance during breakfast time. Nodoka and Saki came into the cafeteria together, sitting down next to her after they had picked up their meal tray. Saki really had grown since that time at Kiyosumi, huh? Her hair was neatly combed, her shirt perfectly-creased - most people would not notice anything wrong with her today, but the bags under her eyes that she had tried to conceal with light make-up was enough to give away the fact that she hadn't had a good night's sleep.

"You look tired today, Saki," Hisa said. Saki calmly nodded.

"I stayed up analyzing the play records of the teams we may face in the upcoming playoffs."

"Oh, you should leave that to me. I'm the team leader after all," Hisa replied, "Speaking of the playoffs, have you read today's newspaper yet? It seems like we're one of the favourites to win the championship this year. See?"

Hisa showed them the article on her tablet. Nodoka was diligently reading through it, but it seemed that Saki only skimmed it in pretense that she actually cared.

"I think they're putting us down as favourites only because of Saki-san," Nodoka said.

"I'm not so good," Saki answered. Hisa laughed.

"That's a pretty bad lie, Saki. You practically carry this team on your shoulders. It's a little frustrating to admit, but I do realize my level is still quite sub-par when compared to all the more experienced professional players in the league. You, on the other hand, are beyond this league. Look, they are comparing you to how Kokaji-pro had once brought the Tsukuba Pleasing Chickens from the brink of disbanding to their first post-season in two decades!"

"That is an exaggeration. If Kokaji-pro were still playing in this league, I would not have had the chance to win the individuals championship."

"You're just being modest, or you're just trying to make me feel better about myself," Hisa continued with a chuckle, "Hey, I don't mind if others say I only made it to the playoffs because I'm on the same team as a monster player. They're clearly just jealous!"

"Have you no shame, Buchou?" Nodoka couldn't help but comment.

"Hey, that's Team Leader for you. I haven't been your Buchou for five years already, so spare me that nickname!" Hisa answered, "Besides, tagging along a strong player ain't anything new. Remember Hokkaido's Usuzan High School? Or West Tokyo's Shiraitodai? Matano Seiko made it to the IH final after having lost more than twice the amount of points you start with in an individuals match!"

At the mention of Shiraitodai, Nodoka's face darkened. Hisa mused that if she weren't Nodoka's senpai, and if Nodoka had a less-than-perfect upbringing, she would've glared at her. Saki, on the other hand, remained unfazed.

So, she needed another little push, huh?

"Now that I think of it, Shiraitodai's old ace, Miyanaga Teru-san, is your sister, right Saki?"

"Buchou!" Nodoka exclaimed, but Hisa wasn't looking at her. Her eyes were trained on Saki.

"I saw her at the front entrance. She has been sitting there since yesterday," Hisa said.

Saki knew Hisa wouldn't stop until she got a reaction out of her. This whole conversation was just that - at first, she was subtle, but now she outright said it in her face. There was no way Saki could ignore her.

"I don't know about this until you mentioned it, Hisa-senpai."

"Then shall we go take a look? We can't have a guest sitting there waiting for us everyday."

Hisa pulled her chair back and got up to leave. Saki remained seated, but she was watching Hisa, still not having decided what to do. Nodoka's face was painted with concern. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to," she said, but at long last, Saki stood up too.

"Don't worry, Nodoka-san. I will be fine."

"But..."

Nodoka wanted to complain, but seeing as Saki was already following behind Hisa's steps, she could just trail behind them. If she couldn't stop Saki from seeing Miyanaga Teru, she could at least stop her from getting hurt again.

* * *

They met Miyanaga Teru at the front entrance. The latter came forward to meet Hisa, who led the trio down the stone steps to the sidewalk. Despite that Teru's face was emotionless as ever, Hisa responded with a bright smile.

"It has been a long time, Miyanaga-san. You remember me?"

"The old buchou of Kiyosumi," she answered.

"It's Takei Hisa. Well...it's okay if you've forgotten."

"Takei-san. I have not forgotten."

Hisa met Teru's eyes with her violet counterparts. She remembered studying the former champion's play footage for hours during the preparations for the 71st IH, and admittedly, even with all the tactics she had thought up of against her, she still outperformed her expectations.

If this person had competed in the individuals tournament for the 71st IH, then most possibly only Miyanaga Saki would've been her match.

"Though it was a brief meeting we had five years ago, I would've loved to chat more with you like old friends. But that's not what you're here for, right Miyanaga-san?"

"I came to talk to someone on your team," she said, looking towards her younger sister in the distance. Since the time of their handshake on stage, they had not seen each other, but even with all the changes to her appearance and aura, some things remained the same.

She could intuitively feel that Saki was still the Saki she had embraced in their shared memories.

"Miyanaga-senpai."

But Saki tried to shatter that illusion with her metallic greeting. Nodoka's eyes opened wide. Hisa, on the other hand, narrowed her gaze thoughtfully. Miyanaga Teru, though, gave no indication that the words made any impact to her conviction.

"Congratulations on your first individuals title in the professional league."

That's a former IH champion for you - Hisa thought, recalling the interviews back then. Miyanaga Teru's words were polite and appropriate - there was nothing you could criticize her about, and at the same time, she skillfully concealed her bottom card.

"Thank you," Saki replied.

"With that said, please forgive my forwardness. I came today to request an informal match with you."

"A challenge?" Hisa asked. Teru nodded, her gaze still focused on Saki.

"I withdrew from the 71st IH's individuals tournament for personal reasons, and it is something I deeply regret even now. If I were to have had the chance of reaching the finals, I would've been able to play with you. But I didn't, and there is no use thinking back to what could've been. I do wish that you would consider giving me another opportunity to compete with you on the table. I want to experience your play style first-hand, and in addition, I want to show you my way of connecting with the tiles."

"I do not think Saki-san requires a lesson on your personal mahjong philosophy, seeing as you have not competed in any open tournaments for the past five years," Nodoka rebuked. Teru didn't look at her, a thin smile appearing on her face.

"I may not have competed in any open tournaments in the past five years, but I won two consecutive team IH titles, the individuals 70th IH title, and the individuals spring tournament title in the following year. In the 71st IH you've competed in, Haramura-san, I was named the team tournament MVP despite my team's second place finish. I know this may not mean much to professional players, but I do have confidence I can at least hold my own against you."

"We know you have an impressive resume, Miyanaga-san," Hisa answered with a light laugh, "Nodoka here is a scientist through and through, she just doesn't believe in supernatural connections with tiles. No offense intended."

Nodoka really wanted to glare at Hisa, completely not understanding why she was seemingly helping Miyanaga Teru out. But what was more concerning was that Saki hadn't said a word. It couldn't be...that...

"I am honoured by what you think of me, Miyanaga-senpai. If we have two other players willing to join the table, I am not opposed to playing a game with you."

"Saki!?" Nodoka couldn't help but utter her friend's name at the decision. Why would she agree to what Miyanaga Teru had denied five years ago? It wasn't fair that Miyanaga Teru could run away only to come back and ask this of her!

"I'm willing to play," Hisa answered. Nodoka snapped her head towards her senpai, who just smiled back in return. She just...couldn't understand!

"I...I will play too," Nodoka finally said. However ridiculous this all sounded, she would have to go along with it. She promised she would see to it that Saki wouldn't get hurt. No matter what methods she had to use, she would fulfill this promise.

* * *

It was agreed upon that they would play a single east round.

The wind tiles were flipped. The four players sat down. Nodoka's sharp eyes glanced at the still dice before looking up to her opponents with dazed eyes, a flush appearing on her face.

"Do you mind if I use my left hand?"

So she was already in angel form, huh? - Hisa noted. Nodoka had gotten a lot stronger since her high school days. Now not only could she play completely digitally from the very start, her will also affected the walls under her dealership...

"I don't mind."

"Me neither."

"Go ahead."

Nodoka's left hand reached for the button to roll the dice. The walls came up. The dice stopped, and based on the number they indicated, she split the wall. Hisa took her tiles, flipped them open, arranged them, slid them back to the edge of the table to line them straight before moving them forward again. A 4-shanten hand. How scientific. Without Nodoka on the table, Hisa's starting hands and draws were usually much worse.

She glanced towards her right where Miyanaga Teru was seated in the north position. Across from her was Saki in south. She was sure Saki's hand would be affected by Nodoka's power, but Miyanaga Teru's? She could only assume.

Then again, in the past, the former IH champion's hand usually didn't come together in East 1, so perhaps this seating arrangement was most advantageous for her. Should she say luck was in Miyanaga Teru's favour? Well, maybe she shouldn't call it luck. As Miyanaga had said, her connection with the tiles were really affecting the entire game.

Nodoka made the first discard. West wind. Then Saki followed with a draw she set into her hand and a discard of north. Hisa drew in a 9-sou, discarded her self-wind west. Since Nodoka already discarded one, she didn't want to bother trying to draw in two more. With the current Nodoka on the table, she didn't think hell-waiting would do her much good.

Miyanaga Teru was the only one who drew a tile but didn't set it into her hand, instead discarding it immediately. It was a 1-pin.

So far so good. Nothing out of the ordinary. This continued for more than a good half of the game, with only Nodoka calling a pon from Hisa's 3-wan.

Hisa noticed that Nodoka had drawn a few effective tiles. If not for Miyanaga Teru playing very cautiously, she would've been able to advance her hand to tenpai with a chii. So was the elder Miyanaga sister really giving up on the game as per her usual routine? Hisa had taken on a chanta approach to her own hand, affording her simples to discard. It should've been easy for Miyanaga to call at least a chii from her, but she didn't.

Then she just had to be more proactive if she wanted to stop Nodoka and Saki from reaching tenpai, or worse yet, winning.

"Pon!" Hisa called Nodoka's discard of haku. This should put her at tenpai. She discarded a red 5-pin.

Miyanaga Teru drew and discarded a 9-wan. It was Nodoka's turn again. She discarded a chun.

"Kan!"

It wasn't as though Hisa had special powers in making rinshan kaihou, so it usually wasn't a good idea to make a kan of dragon tiles when she was at tenpai. It was bad enough even if she didn't have the open triplet of haku, flaunting to the world that she had yaku and could win with a quick hand now. But because of the open haku triplet, now her kan of chun was flaunting to the world that she could have a possibility of achieve a daisangen, or at least a shousangen!

Goodness. Everybody would surely be avoiding playing into her hand.

She took down the rinshanpai. 4-pin. It wasn't useful for her, so betting on the chances that Saki wasn't aiming to win off it, she made the discard.

"Chii."

Chii? Now? 456-pin sequence. Hisa had played a 7-pin previously, and she noted that Miyanaga Teru had been discarding what she drew since. Why didn't she call a chii then?

Was she trying to change the drawing order?

On the next draw, Hisa received a hatsu.

Hisa couldn't understand. Miyanaga Teru was a monster - in the past, she seemed to be able to feel what tiles were on the wall. She should know that hatsu was there!

And yet she shifted it to Hisa who already had an open pon of haku and kan of chun?

Hisa felt like she was being used, but she kept the hatsu as she thought Miyanaga might've wanted her to. She discarded the 9-sou she was waiting on for her pair, switching the wait to the hatsu instead.

Saki declared riichi in the next turn.

But the game still ultimately ended in a draw. Nodoka was first to cover up her hand, with an announcement of "Noten." Saki then flipped open her hand.

"Tenpai."

She had a double wait of 8-pin and hatsu. If not for the hatsu pair, it would've been a tanyao hand, but because of it, she would only have yaku if she won off a hatsu or menzen-tsumo on the 8-pin if she hadn't declared riichi. Saki must've known the hatsu she should've drawn fell into Hisa's hand, so for her to declare riichi, she must've felt that the two remaining 8-pin weren't on the wall, and she could only win if someone had discarded it.

Hisa smiled. She also flipped open her hand.

"Tenpai."

But Saki shouldn't have any hard feelings against her for holding onto the third hatsu, because Saki herself held onto the hatsu pair to prevent Hisa from winning. In fact, she chose to declare riichi instead of changing her wait knowing she couldn't discard the hatsu without playing into Hisa's hand.

Now Hisa was interested in where that last hatsu and pair of 8-pin were. If they weren't on the wall, were they with Nodoka? Or was it...

"Noten."

Hisa was about to be disappointed that she would never know the answer, but Miyanaga Teru flipped over her hand for all to see.

The last hatsu and the pair of 8-pin were there.

The former IH champion met the gaze of the current pro-champion. The magic mirror rose. Miyanaga Saki didn't look back at it - her dealership of East 2 was about to begin.

_(Dark!Saki/Teru story to be continued next time...)_


	7. DarkSaki x Teru - part 3

AN: Thanks to reviewers arkzero, Vein's Simply Tired, and Misha for their kind comments in the last chapter. With regards to Misha's comment about how Saki is "dark" in this fic, I see it as her dark outlook in life, which is reflected in the dark style of her mahjong. As alluded by Awai in the first chapter of this short story, Saki no longer uses rinshan kaihou, which is a stark contrast to her canon character as of chapter 151 of the manga (where Saki says that she can compromise on anything else about her play style, but just not rinshan kaihou, which as we know from her flashback with Teru is because Teru told her the meaning of the yaku is the same as Saki's name, that of blooming flowers). So Saki's mahjong in this story is not only merciless, but rather, hopeless, which is what I meant by Saki's darkness. Of course, resolving her issues with Teru would take more than this short little mahjong game, although indeed, mahjong is going to take on a major role in the process as a vehicle of expression for the siblings. This current chapter is just mahjong (hopefully I didn't make a silly mistake somewhere...), but hopefully the game description gets across some of the characters' inner thoughts. The game got a little too long, so I think I'll have to extend this short story to a five-chapter run instead of the original four. Anyway, thanks for reading! Please enjoy! Comments on your impressions and any suggestions would be appreciated. I'll try to update the next chapter on January 1st, New Years Day.

* * *

**3) The Black Lily's Reflection (Dark!Saki/Teru)**

Part Three

Haramura Nodoka 23500  
Miyanaga Saki 25500  
Takei Hisa 26500  
Miyanaga Teru 23500

**East 2 - Dealer Miyanaga Saki**

Hisa felt a chill behind her. So this was the famous mirror, huh? She wondered what else did Miyanaga Teru see besides what could be extracted from the detailed play records of her matches from the past couple of years. But more than anything, she pondered what was it that she saw about Saki, who remained unfazed as she reached over to start picking her tiles for East 2. Hisa followed suit, then Teru, Nodoka, and back to Saki again until she picked the last two tiles and the rest the last tile of their starting hand.

Hisa flipped open her tiles and arranged them. Yikes. Without Nodoka dealing, her hand was an utter mess. If only she had one more terminal or characters tile, she could force a redraw because of the kyuushukyuuhai rule, not that that would help much seeing as Hisa's luck was usually abysmal.

Should she go for a chanta? Or hold onto the tiles that could possibly get her a quick yakuhai triplet? Or should she just go "fuck it" and bail from the start? Considering Saki was dealer, and her sister was obviously going head on against her, those two monster players were likely to win before the first row of tiles appeared on their respective discard piles. The "fuck it" option was looking more and more appealing by the second.

But that wouldn't be Takei Hisa's style, eh? She grinned as Saki discarded her first tile - if she couldn't achieve a win by herself, how about she pitched in an effort in deciding this siblings rivalry?

Rather than discarding Teru's seat wind, west, she first dumped a 9-wan. She was planning on waiting a couple turns in case Teru managed to collect a pair, then discarding it would give her the yakuhai triplet. But such a plan was naive. In the next turn, Saki followed suit with a 9-wan discard, slipping it into her pile sideways.

"Riichi."

Damn, riichi on the second turn? And considering Saki's exceptional perception, it was possible that she was aiming for an ippatsu too. Well, then what was most important was first breaking this possibility. Hisa took the risk and discarded a 5-wan in hopes Teru could make use of it.

"Chii."

3, 4, 5-wan sequence. Hisa smiled. Not only did this break Saki's ippatsu, but would also shift her winning tile to Hisa's hands if she intended to tsumo. Teru discarded a 1-sou, Nodoka her seat wind north, and Saki drawing and discarding 1-pin.

Alright. Hisa drew in a 2-sou. Was this the tile Saki waited for? In that case, 2-sou and 5-sou would both be quite dangerous, not that Hisa had a 5-sou. The honours tiles would probably be comparatively safer. Hisa discarded her own seat wind, south, which being Saki's guest wind, would not give her yaku even if she had a triplet of it. There would be no reason for her to keep a pair and wait on it, right?

"Ron. 2000."

Triplet of south, 2, 2, 7, 8, 9-sou, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7-pin. Riichi. Dealer 1-han 40-fu hand for 2000 points. So she had a double wait of south and 2-sou, rather than waiting on 2, 5-sou to complete a sequence? That was unexpected.

So Saki was going for speed over a large hand, huh? It was the correct strategy for a dealer, and would be especially effective against her sister. Hisa couldn't help but approve while handing over her points.

Saki also retrieved the riichi sticks from this round and the last. The current standings were:

Haramura Nodoka 23500  
Miyanaga Saki 28500  
Takei Hisa 24500  
Miyanaga Teru 23500

**East 2 Bonus Round 1**

"Kan."

It was the second turn, and Saki had already called a closed quad of 8-pin. Hisa had a bad feeling about this. Saki's kan, if not used for rinshan kaihou, often also brought her effective tiles from the dead wall. Indeed, her draw was placed into her hand and she discarded a 9-sou. Hisa drew and discarded, her hand still far from complete. She wondered how her shimocha was doing.

Hisa still felt that chill from the first East 2 round and was tempted to look backwards to see if the mirror was still there. It couldn't be, right? Miyanaga Teru's mirror was supposed to disappear shortly after it was called.

Teru looked closely at her draw, set it into her hand, and discarded a 8-sou.

"Pon!" Hisa called, taking it. Her hand this round looked more like a chanta hand too, and with both 7-sou and 9-sou in her hand, she had intended on discarding the extra 8-sou she didn't need. But considering she had to stop Saki from drawing, the best way would probably be calling pon as she was Saki's shimocha. As a result, she found herself discarding 7-sou after calling the 8-sou triplet.

Teru drew and discarded. Nodoka discarded a 1-pin, her hand constructed around a souzu hon'itsu.

"Pon!" Hisa called again. She hadn't expected to advance her hand in this way, but perhaps she should really bet her chances on a toitoi. At any rate, at least she was slowing down Saki's speed by preventing her draws. She still had another pair, a 3-pin, but how could she also make a pon on this?

She discarded a 4-pin. She wasn't sure if that sent the message across. Considering she pon'ed off the 1-pin, it was unlikely she would go for a 1, 2, 3-pin sequence. Now that she discarded a 4-pin, it made the odds of her going for a 2, 3, 4-pin, 3, 4, 5-pin, or 4, 5, 6-pin sequence unlikely either. Furthermore, Saki had already declared a closed quad of 8-pin, so 6, 7, 8-pin, and 7, 8, 9-pin sequences were impossible. If Hisa still held onto any pinzu, then it was likely a pair, awaiting a triplet.

Then again, such message was a little vague, right? She could just hope that her shimocha would consider her 4-pin discard at this point odd enough to warrant some additional thoughts. But even if she could deduce Hisa still held a pinzu pair, would she figure out which one it was? Furthermore, would she really be holding the third tile?

Teru drew in a tile, and then played a 3-pin.

"Pon!" Hisa took it and lined it by the side. Three open triplets! Unfortunately, she had no more sequences or pairs. The rest of her tiles were so random she struggled not to smile bitterly at them. She dumped a north wind.

Teru drew again. She had had more chances to draw than her sister, so Hisa could only speculate her hand was coming together this time. Her next discard was not called, and Nodoka drew again. After a quick moment of pondering, Nodoka discarded a west wind despite her hon'itsu plan.

Either she was bailing, or she felt that waiting on a guest wind was not worth it now that Hisa's hand looked so close to complete.

"Pon," Teru called, taking the tile. The west wind triplet gave her yakuhai. That and she successfully slowed down Saki's draw once again.

Nodoka drew and discarded another time, and finally Saki made her draw. Hisa noted how calm Saki's countenance was - certainly a whole lot different from the time during the 71st IH when she often looked on the verge of tears after such interruption. Her growth should be something Hisa was proud of, but somehow, she felt that this wasn't exactly the growth she wanted to see.

Saki wasn't looking calm because she was emotionally strong now. She merely knew such interference would not make a difference against her crushing power in the end.

She made a 5-sou discard.

"Pon."

Again!? This time it was Nodoka. So many pon in a single round made Hisa widen her eyes in surprise. Then again, it was quite obvious both Miyanaga siblings were using their keen senses of the tile mountains to purposefully feed the others.

Nodoka discarded, then Saki drew again. Like last time, she didn't even look, just tossing the tile away. 6-sou.

"Pon."

Nodoka made another pon. Saki had guessed correctly Nodoka was going for a souzu hon'itsu hand, possibly also with an iipeikou previously, but since Hisa's discard of 7-sou and her subsequent quick advancement of her hand through pon, Nodoka leaned towards not keeping her hand closed to fulfill the iipeikou not only because her chances of drawing two 7-sou had diminished, but also self-drawing either a pair of 4-sou or 7-sou would be far too slow. So after opening her hand with a 5-sou pon, she further called a pon on Saki's 6-sou. With two open triplets, she might even switch towards a simple toitoi, disregarding her initial hon'itsu intentions.

But why did Saki have to feed Nodoka? Just so she would quit her hon'itsu? That didn't make sense. To give herself more draws? But both the 5-sou and 6-sou she drew in, she discarded immediately. Then what was missing?

Ah! Hisa looked at her shimocha, who closed her eyes while Saki drew and announced.

"Tsumo. Menzen-tsumo, dora 1, 1st bonus round, 1400 all."

Could it be that Saki intentionally fed Nodoka those two pon in order to take what was supposed to be Teru's winning tile - the red 5-wan?

Her winning hand was 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7-wan, closed quad of 8-pin, 1, 2, 3-sou with a wide wait on 2, 4, 5, 7, 8-wan. The wide wait allowed her to stealth tenpai rather than declare riichi even when she had no other yaku, and she was able to tsumo with the tile her sister was waiting for.

Even if she didn't, it was without doubt she would've kept the 5-wan so Teru couldn't win. Without declaring riichi, she would've been able to restructure her hand and continue interrupting Teru's win as needed.

Haramura Nodoka 22100  
Miyanaga Saki 32700  
Takei Hisa 23100  
Miyanaga Teru 22100

**East 2 Bonus Round 2**

This was not looking good. Hisa felt as though Nodoka and herself walked into the wrong universe or something - her hands were far too slow to complete compared to the two monsters on the table! As for the Miyanaga siblings, Hisa wasn't sure if Saki's or Teru's hands were faster. At any rate, they both held the ability to win within the first 6 discards. But Teru's usual defense by seeing into her opponents' souls was probably quite pointless against Hisa and Nodoka. Hisa's hands never reached the point that she had to contemplate waiting on which tile, while Nodoka's style was so digital in nature that magic mirror or not, one could calculate her moves by the laws of probability. That left Saki, who Hisa confessed after the past couple of years, had probably discarded every last remnant of the style she used to conform to. It sometimes seemed like she had no special ability, sometimes like she had every ability ever seen on a mahjong table. If there were a core to be defined about her powers, it was probably her capability of sensing the tiles on the mountains, and accurately predicting her opponents' hands.

And she did have an advantage in the second department over her older sibling, being Nodoka's and Hisa's teammate for so many years. Miyanaga Teru might be powerful, but it was much more difficult for her to harness the strength Hisa was trying to lend her - or was she even trying in the first place?

Four turns in. Saki was the only one who had opened her hand with a chii of 2, 3, 4-wan. Nodoka discarded a 5-sou, followed by Saki drawing in a chun and declaring a closed kan. Hisa swallowed hard when Saki reached for the dead wall, but she just played the 7-wan tile. So it wasn't a rinshan kaihou, huh? Well, it wasn't like Saki had used one in ages. Still, Hisa couldn't get rid of the habit of holding her breath whenever Saki made a kan.

The new dora indicator was a 1-sou, making 2-sou the new dora. Hisa was readying her hand for a pinzu hon'itsu, so as much as she'd like to keep the 2-sou dora, she thought it safest to discard it right after Nodoka's 5-sou discard, just in case anybody was holding onto 3-sou, 4-sou.

"Ron."

It was Saki.

Closed quad of chun, 2, 2, 3, 4, 5-sou, 2, 3, 4-pin, and an opened sequence of 2, 3, 4-wan.

She was waiting on 2-sou and 5-sou?

But wait...she played the rinshanpai. So she must have already been at tenpai when Nodoka discarded the 5-sou. But why did she not ron against her? Winning on the 5-sou instead of the 2-sou would've given her a sanshoku hand in addition to the yakuhai to give her a 2900 points win, plus the 600 points renchan bonus.

Was it so she could open the kan-dora 2-sou? Now her hand became a 3-han yakuhai, dora 2, for 11600 points, plus the 600 points renchan bonus.

So she gave up winning on Nodoka to win on Hisa instead so she could have a larger hand, created by the kan-dora? Considering the hands of East 2, first being 1-han 40-fu 2000 points, to 2-han 40-fu 1400-all, to this hand of 3-han 60-fu 12200 points...wasn't this looking awfully like...

Teru's staircase to heaven?

Haramura Nodoka 22100  
Miyanaga Saki 44900  
Takei Hisa 10900  
Miyanaga Teru 22100

**East 2 Bonus Round 3**

Just after the last round, Hisa finally couldn't help glance to the side to see whether the mirror was still there. The chill she felt before hadn't ceased since the beginning of East 2, but what met her eyes wasn't the concrete-looking mirror she had expected, but rather, it was translucent and flickered. Of course, she knew it wasn't really a physical mirror after all, rather an illusion due to Teru's power of influence, but still, this surprised her. It was certainly not what the pros who had played with the former IH champion had said about her.

Was this why Miyanaga Teru's play today felt oddly strange? Neither Hisa nor Nodoka had ever played her on the table, so it was hard for them to draw a comparison, but just from Teru's previous record, it seemed as though her current style lacked her past dominance.

It was true that playing against the new Saki was probably a lot more difficult than many of her past opponents, but that wasn't quite it...and the mirror that still hovered faintly behind them was an indication that Hisa's hypothesis wasn't unfounded.

It was already the seventh turn. If one could visualize the psychological pressure the two monster players were exerting on the table, the table would've literally cracked. Nodoka was obviously unaffected, playing as though she were facing a cold, hard computer monitor, but Hisa was not so lucky, feeling her breath robbed away. She was pretty darn sure both siblings were either already at tenpai or awfully close, but as usual, her hand was still not coming together.

"Wish I were a little stronger..." she muttered under her breath, dumping a west wind. Saki raised her gaze, calling.

"Pon."

She took Hisa's tile and lined it to the side with another pair that was already in her hand. Opening her hand with a guest wind triplet? What did this mean?

She discarded a 3-sou. Hisa drew in a 8-sou, dumped 9-sou, going for a tanyao. Teru drew and discarded 3-pin.

Nodoka also made her draw and discard, and it was Saki's turn again. She drew in a tile, set it into her hand, then took another tile from her hand and slipped it onto the table.

"Kan."

She was adding a west wind to the pon she made off Hisa's tile. So she opened her hand just to get a kan? If Nodoka were still as persistent as she used to be, she would've frowned at such a move. Why not keep a closed triplet instead of calling a kan? It was actually a question Hisa pondered too, because Saki no longer used rinshan kaihou.

And yes, Saki drew in the rinshanpai, set that into her hand, and discarded another 3-sou. Wait...so she had a 3-sou pair before?

This kan was looking more and more suspicious. Was it like the previous hand, where she made the kan to open the kan-dora? The indicator was a 3-wan, making 4-wan the new dora. Hisa drew and discarded, then glanced over at her shimocha. Teru's discards were mostly pinzu and souzu, so it would seem that she was keeping wanzu in her hand.

Could it be that Saki made the kan not to affect her own hand, but her sister's?

But if even Hisa recognized it as a trap, Teru wouldn't fall for it, right?

Teru drew and discarded a 9-wan, this time setting it sideways.

"Riichi."

"Chii."

"Kan."

Both Nodoka and Saki's voices sounded right after Teru's riichi announcement when the 9-wan was set on the table. Nodoka retracted her hand since Saki's call took precedence. Saki took the 9-wan and lined the quad on her side.

Both the west wind and 9-wan...she already had closed triplets, but still decided to make open kans. This was so unscientific!

Once again, she did not win on the rinshanpai, instead just setting it down. It went uncalled. Hisa drew and discarded, followed by Teru, who obligated by her riichi, could just set down whichever tile she drew, which was a 4-sou.

"Ron. Toitoi, third bonus round, 6700," Saki called.

An opened quad of west and 9-wan, 1, 1, 5, 5, 5-pin, 4, 4, 4-sou.

If Hisa remembered correctly, then judging by where Saki set her draws, the 1-pin pair was what she drew in exchange for the 3-sou pair she discarded, meaning that if she hadn't declared the two kans, her hand would've been closed triplets of west, 9-wan, 5-pin, and pairs of 3-sou and 4-sou. She was tenpai for at least a sanankou, a suuankou if she self-drew the last triplet!? Well, if she hadn't made the pon of west off Hisa and the kan on 9-wan so that play wasn't interrupted, the 4-sou would've been drawn by Hisa, who would've admittedly kept it. So the first pon of west was probably to shift the 4-sou to herself.

And the kan of 9-wan? That was either for making sure Nodoka didn't make the chii, which would've returned the 4-sou back to Hisa, or she merely wanted to shift the 4-sou to Teru, who had to discard it because of riichi.

So that was the trap Saki made with the chakan on west wind. The kan-dora...or maybe the new ura-dora actually, was most likely in Teru's hand.

But did Teru really fall unknowingly into the trap? Hisa looked at Teru, who was handing Saki the riichi stick and the 6700 points she owed for this hand. No, she jumped into the trap on her own will. She was testing something - this was what it meant for her to keep her mirror open.

She was testing whether Saki was really ascending the staircase.

And she was not. Even if she couldn't get her hands on the 4-sou, she could've waited silently for the 3-sou. Even if that was somehow impossible, she could've declined the kan of 9-wan and waited for 1-pin. Either of these options would've given her a hand that was at least a mangan.

But she didn't. Hisa wasn't sure if this was because of what Saki felt about the tile mountains, or she was just sending a message to her sister.

Saki wasn't imitating Teru. She merely played in whichever way would allow her to psychologically dominate everyone on the table. This was what she perceived as true victory.

Ironically, that was probably the same reason why Teru had played the way she did those years ago when she was still the reigning IH champion.

Haramura Nodoka 22100  
Miyanaga Saki 52600  
Takei Hisa 10900  
Miyanaga Teru 14400

**East 2 Bonus Round 4**

Many, many years ago, so long ago that the memories were faded, Teru remembered holding her younger sister's hand as she picked up her first mahjong tile.

At that time, Saki was smiling widely.

She remembered Saki putting the tile to her own mouth and trying to bite into it. That would lead to a very long scolding by a displeased Mrs. Miyanaga. But the scratched 1-pin, slobbered with drool, would always remain in the depths of Teru's mind.

2, 3-pin, 6, 6, 8, 8, 8-wan, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5-sou. Teru drew in a chun tile in the first turn. Normally, she would just discard it and wait a few turns to see if she could change her hand to a better state. After all, there were many possibilities, toitoi or iipeikou along with the standard tanyao, but this time, she cast the chun sideways.

"Riichi."

It was no longer a chill. It was a tempest. After the double-riichi, Hisa felt as though she could literally touch the mirror behind her. Miyanaga Teru was using her full power to look into the soul of her sister - she was going all-out against who Saki had become.

In reality, even when draining everything she had to keep up her mirror for so many rounds, Teru still couldn't see anything behind Saki. It was pitch black, like the very bottom of a deep crevice, but she knew, without doubt, it was a mountain.

Because that was where both their powers came from. Even if Saki tried to hide it, to discard it, it was a truth that could not be denied.

_"There is no meaning in hiding on the very top of this pinnacle, Saki. I know this because I've been there before. It's cold, dark, lonely, and in the end, nothing more than an illusion..."_

Nodoka drew in her tile. At this point, even she could feel the unease on the table. Her angel persona cracked a bit, the flush fading from her face while she finally lifted her gaze towards Saki. Saki was winning, repeatedly, which should be a good thing even if it were through such improbable methods. But still, she couldn't stop herself from being concerned. Maybe Buchou's approach was the right one - even though it was tough to admit, but running away from Miyanaga Teru had not solved Saki's problems at all. As much as Nodoka would rather Saki just forget her past to live in a joyful present, such present didn't actually exist.

Miyanaga Teru had once run away, leaving Saki's hopes of reuniting her family shattered. Now she repented, but Saki no longer trusted her.

Would it be better if she took the chances and gambled again?

But what Miyanaga Teru said was correct - this was not a decision Nodoka could make for Saki. Nodoka set the tile into her hand and discarded another tile. For now, she should just play her mahjong. Everything else was up to Saki herself.

The game continued into its fourth turn. Teru was climbing in the dark, her breathing becoming ragged while sweat dripped from her forehead. Though she couldn't see anything in the mirror, she could feel the path under her feet in this imagined world. It was steep, rocky, but she could make out where it cut through the mountainous terrain. Her win was drawing near. She knew it!

"Kan."

Saki's call cut through the still air. She took Hisa's discard of east wind and slipped it with the rest of her quad to the side. She was revealing her seat and prevailing wind yakuhai.

The new dora indicator was flipped. It was a 7-wan, making 8-wan the new dora.

Then Hisa drew and discarded a 4-pin.

Teru's finger twitched from where she kept it under the table. 4-pin was her winning tile, but if she called on it, what was initially a double-riichi, tanyao hand became a double-riichi, tanyao, 3 dora hand for a 13200 haneman in this fourth bonus round.

But Hisa only had 10900 points left!

She reached instead for the wall, drew and discarded.

This was fine. She had predicted that Saki would interrupt her first try at winning anyway. She still had a second plan, her true plan, and she would have to self-draw to fulfill it either way.

Saki's next draw was effective. She discarded a 1-pin, which Teru couldn't take because she was at permanent furiten after giving up a win following riichi.

Teru knew Saki was now at tenpai as well.

But the game continued to its eleventh turn. Nodoka already had two open melds of souzu, and judging by her predominantly pinzu and wanzu discards, it was likely she was using this suit in a hon'itsu or chin'itsu. Still, Saki discarded a 7-sou.

"Pon," Nodoka called.

The road that Teru had seen disappeared.

She still ran, ran and ran, tried her hardest to climb to the top.

But with this move, her mirror crumbled and she was left staring at the blank space behind Saki.

"Is there something behind me, Miyanaga-senpai?" Saki's voice sounded as Nodoka played her discard. Saki didn't seem to be looking for an answer, just drawing and discarding as usual afterwards, but when Hisa reached for the wall, she knew something was wrong.

Saki had shifted Teru's winning tile to Hisa again, at least that was what Hisa thought.

But still, Hisa played it, not knowing Teru was at furiten, nor the fact that this wasn't really Teru's winning tile, but what led to the draw she wanted from the dead wall. All she knew was that if her discard were what it took to wake Saki up from this vicious cycle of distrust, she would do it.

She discarded the 8-wan.

"If there isn't something behind me, I would appreciate it if Miyanaga-senpai look me straight in the eyes," Saki said coldly before letting her tiles fall onto the table surface, "Ron, yakuhai seat wind, prevailing wind, wanzu hon'itsu, fourth bonus round, dealer mangan 13200 points."

The 8-wan that Teru should've drawn, but was taken up and dealt by Hisa, completed Saki's hand of open east wind quad, 2, 2, 2, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7, 8-wan. This plunged Hisa's score below zero.

With Teru unable to make a kan, the rinshanpai 1-pin that held such precious memories for both siblings remained hidden. Teru could just watch from the shards of her broken mirror Saki plucking out the black lily from the peak of the mountain and scattering it in the wind.

Haramura Nodoka 22100  
Miyanaga Saki 66800  
Takei Hisa -2300  
Miyanaga Teru 13400

_(Dark!Saki/Teru story to be continued next time...)_


	8. DarkSaki x Teru - part 4

AN: Thanks to reviewers arkzero, EXpertUS, toki1, and TakeiTeru for their insightful comments in the last chapter. With regards to why Teru didn't see anything in the mirror in the last chapter, it was because Saki's will to hide her power was stronger than Teru's will to see through it at first. In the last hand, however, Teru did manage to see Saki on top of the mountain scattering the black lily (which alludes to the true source of her power). As for whether Teru intentionally lost, or did she lose because she was too weak, I suppose you can say it's a combination of both. While she did try to win, she prioritized understanding Saki over winning throughout the match. In the last hand, she could've won, but that would've plummeted Hisa into negatives, which would not only place her second, but also she wouldn't be able to continue playing so she could understand Saki. In the end, while she did lose, she managed to see through Saki's armour, which was her true intentions from the beginning. Hope that answers your questions. Anyway, hope you'll enjoy this chapter. Have a happy new year, everyone!

* * *

**3) The Black Lily's Reflection (Dark!Saki/Teru)**

Part Four

When Teru did look up to her, Saki narrowed her gaze to the table below.

Why had she said what she said? All these years she had tried pushing her old self away and still she wavered now with her sister in front of her.

"I hope that was a satisfying match for you, Miyanaga-senpai," Saki said, hoping to distract herself from the situation. She pushed back on her chair and rose up for a bow. "I would like to apologize that I can no longer accompany you on your visit as I have other matters to attend to. If you would now excuse me."

Without waiting for a response, she turned around and exited the room. Nodoka hurriedly stood and followed after her, with only Hisa remaining seated, shaking her head lightly.

"Kids these days..." she muttered, turning towards Teru, "Sorry about that. I know you didn't come to chat with me, but if there's anything I can do for you, please don't hesitate to ask."

It took a moment for Teru to snap out of her thoughts and return her gaze from the empty doorway to Hisa. She nodded, "I really appreciate your offer, Takei-san, but I think this is a matter for me to deal with alone."

Hisa nodded knowingly. It wasn't as though she could rebuke seeing as she was the one responsible for the premature termination of this match. And as someone who hid her own family situation from her teammates for years, she could understand how difficult it was to open up about things like these.

But what she couldn't do herself wasn't necessarily what shouldn't be done.

"It may be something only you can resolve, but I think it might be a good idea to talk it over with someone anyway. They might not be able to help you, but at least they can offer you a shoulder to lean on when you need it."

In the shoes of an outsider, the worries that would otherwise consume you were inexistent, allowing you to analyze everything more clearly. Here, Hisa knew no matter how stoic Miyanaga Teru's face appeared at this moment, she was really devastated. While hiding behind the armour that was her strong exterior might temporarily ease her feeling of vulnerability, this wouldn't last.

Both siblings were still hurt. They just wouldn't let it show.

When Teru stayed silent, Hisa mused that this was to be expected. Even if Teru were to open up, it wouldn't be to a stranger as Hisa. She just smiled and offered a hand to help Teru stand, "Well, at least let me show you the way back?"

Teru looked at Hisa's hand for a moment before clasping onto it and pulling herself up, "Thank you. This is more than I can ask for."

* * *

"Sumire?"

As Hisa led Teru out the building, she found her old friend waiting for her.

"Takei-san gave me a text when she saw you this morning. It's been two nights already - I thought I'd come by and check if things are going okay."

"Well, now that Hirose-san is here, I might as well leave things to the two of you!" Hisa said, giving Teru a pat on the back to send her forward. "I look forward to seeing you again, Miyanaga-san. Just know that you have our support. Even our little Nodoka...we all would like to offer you our best wishes in this endeavour, for Saki's sake and yours."

Seeing as Teru still seemed a little out of it, Sumire politely bowed in her stead, "You have our thanks, Takei-san."

With that, the two of them left the mahjong club premises. Sumire considered leading Teru to the station, but when Teru's steps took them in a mindless wander along the streets of Nagano, she did not insist, just following.

The sun climbed high into the skies and the temperature became baking. Seeing sweat run down Teru's forehead, Sumire took out a hankerchief from her pocket and offered it to her friend.

"Thanks..." Teru muttered, taking it. For a split second, her hand brushed against Sumire's, and Sumire could feel that Teru's fingers were cold and clammy.

"You want to take a rest somewhere? We've been walking around for a bit so..."

Teru stopped her steps and gave Sumire an apologetic look, "Sorry, I did not realize. I shouldn't have taken up so much of your time."

"Don't worry about it. It's the weekend. I needed a break."

"Let's grab lunch then. My treat," Teru answered as casually as she could. Sumire inwardly noted how fake Teru's commercial smile looked, but didn't bother pointing it out this time, just scoffing.

"Like you would treat me to a five-course meal. Let me guess, a bowl of ramen?"

"Sandwiches from the convenient store."

Sumire rolled her eyes, "Your cheapness is beyond my expectations..."

But Sumire soon found that there was a reason for the convenient store meal aside from Teru's lack of money. After purchasing the sandwiches, Teru asked Sumire to follow her onto a bus that took them to the city outskirts, and a thirty-minute walk after they got off took them to a remote hill overlooking the snow-topped mountains the region was so famous for.

"So you wanted me to accompany you on a picnic?" Sumire noted, "But I'm wearing a white dress, so I'd prefer not getting it all muddy..."

"Here, help me lay out this mat," Teru answered.

"You still have that with you? Didn't you use to use it on the rooftop."

"Un. This is a new one though. It's clean."

They laid out the piece of vinyl and sat down in the shade of a tree. The hill was quiet save for the occassional chirping of birds and the brushing of wind against tall grass. Amongst their green blades danced the petals of a thousand white flowers, drifting temporarily into the air when caught by breeze to descend further down the canyon into the river below.

"You can't have brought me here just for the view, right?" Sumire asked. Teru hesitated in answering, but eventually relented. Looking out into the expanse before them, she begun.

"I once told someone that there were flowers that could bloom even above the treeline."

"Like the yaku, rinshan kaihou?"

"Un."

So that was why the once captain of Kiyosumi had repeatedly used rinshan kaihou during the 71st interhigh, but in recent years, declined to use it even if it were in her favour. Sumire sighed.

"Bloom like the flowers high above the mountain. Be strong and proud. Let me guess, that's the metaphor you were trying to go for?"

Teru didn't answer. It was just as she said. Sumire really knew her too well, but that was why she felt comfortable enough to be talking with her about all this. She could leave so much unsaid, and still feel like she had been understood.

"I get your sentiment, but really, whether one chooses to be a glory-of-the-snow blooming atop mountains, or a small daisy on the sidewalk is much a personal choice. Unless you said that in anticipation of a hard road ahead?"

Teru trained her gaze to the mountaintop where golden sunlight was reflecting off the snowfall. She then closed her eyes and took a breath.

"That was right before I took the entrance exam to Shiraitodai."

"So before you left her?"

Sumire glanced towards Teru who finally opened her eyes. It took a minute before she could face Sumire, but when she did, she finally recovered a bit of strength.

"The day of the exam, my cousin nearly drowned in the river."

"That is not your fault."

"Even if it weren't, I never got past my silly guilt to go see her, and she died like that in a hospital fire!"

Finally. Finally Sumire saw a real emotion from Miyanaga Teru. Not her fake smiles. Not her fake indifference.

"You finally said it."

She looked down to the vinyl mat, her hair hiding her countenance. Maybe she wanted to cry. Who knew? Sumire never pried.

But she was relieved that at least Teru was willing to show her true emotions to herself.

"Whether it's your guilt that made you run away, or is it something else, it doesn't matter anymore. What you now know is that running away never solved any problems. I know you don't care for what would happen to yourself, however unhealthy that mindset is, but Miyanaga Saki...she doesn't deserve this, alright?"

"I...I know."

Sumire rubbed a hand on her back, "Yes, that's why you are trying now. This is good. Just keep up with it."

"But it's too late."

She didn't think she deserved Saki's forgiveness. If it were just her guilt for Nami's death that kept her away from Saki, it would've been so much simpler. But what Sumire didn't know was her reason for applying to Shiraitodai in the first place. It was with that consideration that she ran again during the 71st Interhigh - a selfish, hideous consideration.

"You think it's too late just because of a single mahjong match?" Sumire's question shook her out of her thoughts. She turned a little so she could see Sumire's stern expression from behind her bangs. "I know mahjong has a special meaning to your family, but even so, don't you find that a tad ridiculous?"

It wasn't just Saki's style of mahjong that made Teru think it was too late - it was that gaze she stole a peek of when Saki chided her.

_"If there isn't something behind me, I would appreciate it if Miyanaga-senpai look me straight in the eyes..."_

She had wanted Teru to see who she had become. Maybe her intention was to show how she could live well and be strong without Teru by her side, but ultimately, what was conveyed was her utter hopelessness in life.

Teru thought that maybe if she could apologize and return to being the sister Saki needed, then everything would be okay. But after today, she understood that her return might just cause Saki more pain.

Sumire sighed again. As much as she tried, maybe there were things even she couldn't understand about Teru. She shook her head a little, "At least make that two matches."

"You think that would change things?"

"I don't know, but if I were your sister, I'd like the chance to whip your ass twice...you know, even if it's just to vent some anger."

Teru finally let out a chuckle and Sumire patted her back, laughing along, "Hey, but serious, I think you need another chance to talk to her."

"I don't want to hurt her further."

"Look, you heard from Awai, Miyanaga Saki has been like this long before you came back. You think seeing her another time is going to hurt more? Don't be too egoistic here."

"I'm not..."

"You should at least apologize. I bet you didn't do that today."

"I...didn't get a chance."

"Then you should. Even if she were to never forgive you, she has the right to know that she wasn't in the wrong. At least tie up the loose ends, Teru. How do you suppose she can go about healing when she still doesn't know why you've done what you did, why you're back again only to provoke her? If your avoidant personality were anything to go by, I would guess Miyanaga Saki might not really want you to leave, but she simply doesn't know how to face you. As the person trying to make amends, don't you think you have a little more responsibility in at least getting that 'sorry' word across?"

Maybe she was right. Maybe Teru was just looking for another easy excuse to run away again. If she kept considering how Saki might feel, without really knowing what Saki _did_ feel, then there would always be the chance that she would be wrong. She should proceed with a clear endpoint to reach, one that didn't depend on such guesses. A clear, concise "sorry". That was what she should say. It was easier said than done, as she couldn't exactly just mail a letter saying that, or even say it in-person without further explanation. She had been too busy during today's match trying to understand Saki - an act that she could only describe as testing the waters - and when she did want to speak her apology through the tiles, it had already been too late. It wasn't that Saki didn't give her the chance. She just didn't take it.

"You're right. I should've. I regret, but there is no turning back. The match is over. She may not agree to a second one."

"I talked with Awai about the possibilities last night. She had a plan. So long as you're willing, we can get Miyanaga Saki on the table in front of you once again."

* * *

After a word with team leader Kainou Yoshiko, Akado Harue clapped her hands twice to get the attention of her team members.

Members of the Tokyo's Hirose Dolphins team turned towards her. That was right, after the 71st Interhigh, Akado found that rather than playing by herself, she was even more interested in coaching. She didn't attribute it to the trauma she once received under the hands of Kokaji Sukoya. It was quite the opposite, really. At first, she just couldn't let go of the Achiga team and decided to stay on as their coach for a couple more years, then when Kokaji decided to begin coaching professional teams, she just couldn't stop herself from following. That was the extent of their constant rivalry. Well, of course, Akado wouldn't admit to it and would justify her decision instead as her wish to continue coaching Shizuno who had since made it into the professional league.

When Hirose Industries bought up the failing Tokyo Dolphins and expressed interest in hiring her to coach their restructured team, she agreed on the condition that she could bring Shizuno along. The team member they already had on their roster, their captain to be precise, couldn't have been any happier. "I swear I'll beat you three thousand times, Takakamo!" Oohoshi Awai had said, pointing a finger at Shizuno. Well, it was good to see that while Oohoshi's skills had improved, she still retained her enthusiasm for the game.

Akado helped their investor, Hirose Sumire, make decisions on the other players. She had met Kainou on several occasions and the latter looked up to her with some respect. When she heard that Kainou was looking to relocate to Tokyo due to personal reasons, she did not hesitate to recruit her as the leader for her new team. Then Kainou suggested Suehara Kyouko, and that choice came with Atago Hiroe like grapes on the same vine, thus their team was complete.

With Kainou as vanguard, Suehara as sergeant, Atago as lieutenant, Shizuno as vice captain, and Oohoshi as captain, they made it into the playoffs in their first year. While it was with some disappointment that they ultimately lost to their division rivals, the Yokohama Lodestars, it was still quite a feat for a young team as theirs. This year, they were looking to take it even further in the playoffs with the championship title as their goal.

Except Oohoshi fell playing against Miyanaga Saki in the final league game before the playoffs. The loss didn't affect their rankings, but having Oohoshi on sick leave would severely decrease their strength. They had Matano Seiko on the bench, but this was the captain position they were talking about - while Matano had improved greatly since her IH days, Akado still didn't feel confident enough to put her as the team's anchor, and the league didn't allow you to freely switch the positions of your players.

Akado would much rather bet on the chances of a Miyanaga Teru who had not touched mahjong for five years than Matano, however mean that sounded.

"Miyanaga-san," Akado called for Teru to come forward. "I'll assume we all still remember the 71st Interhigh and that introductions are not necessary. Miyanaga-san will be replacing Oohoshi as our captain for the duration of our playoff run. Please welcome her."

Kainou started clapping, repeating the word "welcome" in English. After overcoming from their shock, Kyouko, Hiroe and Shizuno followed suit.

"Yo Miss Former IH Champion I can't believe I'd be seeing you here I thought you were in Britain oh that's right you graduated you must miss Japan's ramen but it's not like you're that American from Rinkai ahahahaha..."

"As expected, you're blabbing so much that you're missing all your punctuation."

Shizuno kept her mouth shut while watching the live manzai comedy unravel before her eyes. She wasn't so sure anymore whether the Osakan stereotype was true...or it was just the pair in front of her.

"But Kyouko...don't you find that it's amazing that Miss Former IH Champion is here on our team? Like I've always dreamt of beating the daylights out of her since it has always been the other way around and now that she hasn't played for five years it's totally my ultimate chance for revenge...can you hear my inner evil cackle already? Can you? Can you?"

"If I may suggest, you should probably call our new teammate Miyanaga-san. 'Miss Former IH Champion' sounds very rude."

While Hiroe danced across the room ignoring her suggestion, Kyouko pondered. While she agreed with their coach that the former champion was indeed the best choice they had for captain given the current situation, she couldn't help wonder what prompted her to return from Britain. And if she were to consider that their team was owned by Hirose Sumire, and that the position Miyanaga Teru was replacing was formerly held by Oohoshi Awai, it was all the more clear that there was a personal reason behind all this.

Could it be because of Miyanaga Saki? The rumours that they were siblings had circulated during the 71st IH, but they were denied first by Miyanaga Teru, then by the younger Miyanaga upon the end of the individuals match. But Kainou, when imitating Miyanaga Saki's style, had once drawn a comparison to Miyanaga Teru, noting their similarities. It seemed more than just a coincidence. Glancing over to Shizuno, she saw that the latter was also deep in thought. They had both played Miyanaga Saki during the 71st IH, and for Shizuno, also the 72nd and 73rd IH. They literally saw Miyanaga Saki's style evolve from its previous brightness to today's devastation, and upon what happened to Oohoshi just a couple days previous, they both admitted that they would rather see the old Miyanaga Saki come back - it was not just in sympathy of Oohoshi's plight, but that it was so regrettable the former light that brought joy even to those who lost on the mahjong table had so easily been extinguished.

If Miyanaga Teru could change this, she had Kyouko's support.

"I've played with Teru-san in the 69th IH and know that you were very _strong_, but a few years away from the table may make your skills _rusty_. I will try to help you _polish_ those skills by _imitating_ an opponent you desire. Is there one you'd prefer to _try_, or would you like Harue-san or myself make a _suggestion_?" Kainou asked in a combination of _English_ and Japanese.

Either way, it seemed like the answer was clear. Both for her personal reasons, and her responsibility as her new team's captain, she would have to learn how to play against this person...

"If you don't mind, please imitate Miyanaga Saki," Teru said.

_(Dark!Saki/Teru story to be continued next time...)_


	9. DarkSaki x Teru - part 5

AN: Thanks to reviewers RESTIA and EXpertUS for their kind support in the last chapter. Sorry for the delay. I've been sick since last week. I was planning on ending the story at this chapter, but seeing as I couldn't find enough time to write, I could only get the first half written. The ending for this Dark!Saki/Teru story will have to wait till March 4th. As for this chapter, I made Teru's "gigigi ability" not a chuuren poutou because 1) I'm guessing Kobayashi-sensei won't use the same ability for Teru and Jindai Komaki and 2) to coincide with Saki's narrative that Teru used to chankan her closed quads with kokushi musou. Who knows when we'll actually get to see the "gigigi", seeing as Kobayashi-sensei has decided to first write a match between the 5th to 8th placed schools... Seriously, at this rate, we'll never see the end of the _Saki_ manga.

* * *

**3) The Black Lily's Reflection (Dark!Saki/Teru)**

Part Five

In the year of 20XX, the number of mahjong players have risen to millions worldwide. The playoff finals for the All-Japan Pro Mahjong Cup was one of the most spectacular events in the sport, drawing numerous viewers from within the country and abroad. Seats were sold-out half a year in advance, and those lucky enough to have purchased a ticket sure wasn't shy about expressing their joy, loudly cheering below the brightly-lit stage. From the regular season leaders Yokohama Lodestars, to the defending champions Sakushi Ferreters and fan-favourites Nagano Evergreens, all the teams had avid fanbases waving banners, shouting slogans, some even wearing full body paint. Of course, the home team Tokyo's Hirose Dolphins was no exception, especially considering they were entering the captain's match placing second only to Yokohama, their divisional rivals.

"But the race sure is tight. Coming into the captain's match, Yokohama holds the lead they've gained since the vanguard's match at 123500 points. But after a tremendous comeback in the lieutenant's match by Atago Hiroe and strategic play by their vice captain, Takakamo Shizuno, our home team, Tokyo's Hirose Dolphins, has risen to second place at 98600 points! It's not time to relax though. Nagano Evergreens, the team that knocked the Dolphins' former captain, Oohoshi Awai, into the hospital, is only 6700 points away, trailing in third place with 91900 points. The former champions may be looking shabby now, but at 86000 points, this deficit sure isn't something their powerhouse captain, Amae Koromo, can't handle. So are you excited for this, Fans? Are you excited for this, Sukoyan? Are you feeling just a little jealous that your rival, Akado-pro's team has made it to the finals while your team got eliminated in the first round?"

Kokaji Sukoya tried to grab the mic from her partner, Fukuyo Kouko's hands, "I'm not jealous! I'm happy for Akado-san...why do you always have to make things sound like this?"

"And so the great Grandmaster Kokaji, personally undefeated in all Japan, cries bitter tears for the crushing defeat of the team she coaches."

"I'm not crying! Stop trying to shove onions into my eyes, Kouko-chan!"

"Try to stay on topic, Sukoyan~ The contestants are filing into the arena and you can just feel the heat of the upcoming epic battle by their line-up!" Kouko ignored Sukoya's complaints. "First entering is the replacement captain of the Tokyo's Hirose Dolphins, formerly known as the Pinnacle of Highschool Mahjong, Miyanaga Teru! Oh, look, she still has that novel with her..."

"I'm sure it's a different novel..." Sukoya replied, then came to a sudden realization that she had just been toyed with by Kouko again, "That's not even the point! Contestant Miyanaga Teru has not competed in an official mahjong match for the past five years, but her stunning performance in the 69th through 71st Interhighs have garnered the attention of many upon her return. In the three matches they've played in the playoffs so far, however, Contestant Miyanaga has kept to a strongly defensive style that is drastically different from her offensive focus in the Interhighs. It will be interesting to see how she will play now that her team is trailing, a scenario that hasn't occurred until this current match."

In the waiting room, the members of the Dolphins team were watching the television screen intently. Just judging by the scores, they were actually in a pretty good position. While they were still behind Yokohama, the difference was less than 30000 points. The Yokohama captain was Tsujigaito Satoha, who despite being a very good player, wasn't the kind of monster who could rack up a good 100000 points like the old Miyanaga Teru. Yes, if Teru played like she did in the Interhighs, a 30000 points deficit could be easily overcome in a single win streak of hers. However, the new Teru no longer went on win streaks. While she had always been steady in her play in this tournament, her wins and loses were kept within the 20000 points range. Even if she managed to overcome Tsujigaito, what about against the monsters Miyanaga Saki and Amae Koromo?

They had tried to put a lead on Nagano and Sakushi to cushion Teru's decrease in firepower, but Yokohama's vanguard was Mihirogi Uta, known for her big hands. It took Kainou all she had to reduce the losses, let alone gaining a lead. It wasn't until the lieutenant match that Hiroe managed to pull ahead, but with things like this, she couldn't be too picky about who to win off of, taking most points from Yokohama. As a result, their gain on Nagano and Sakushi was minimal.

"You think she'll be _okay_?" Kainou asked Akado, watching Teru take a seat from the television display. Akado was standing with arms crossed, nodding confidently.

"I think so. Remember how you played against her using Miyanaga Saki's style?"

The others turned around to face Akado, who continued calmly, "Considering how Miyanaga Teru-san has developed over the past weeks, I think it'll be useful having Amae Koromo here actually."

"But without the win streak and its accompanying high point gain, wouldn't we just get overtaken by Sakushi then?" Shizuno asked.

"I think there is something strange about the way Miyanaga-san has been playing. Saying that she can no longer pull a strong, offensive attack may be premature," Kyouko answered.

"Oh, you're onto something crazy there, Kyouko! I like crazy!" Hiroe chimed in.

* * *

Nodoka and Hisa dropped Saki off at the door to the arena. While Saki looked confident as ever, Nodoka was less assured, hugging Etopen tightly in her arms.

"Just do your best, Saki-san. We'll be cheering for you," she said.

Saki nodded, "I will do what it takes to win."

"Quite the big talker huh, Saki?" Hisa said jokingly, patting Saki's back, "But like Nodoka said, just try your best. Victory is nice, but not the true purpose of the game. Play for the process, for the fun. That's all that matters."

"Yeah..." Saki answered. For a second, there was a weariness in her gaze, but it quickly dissipated to its usual cold. Hisa could just give Saki's shoulder one last squeeze before letting her slip away.

Nodoka looked towards Hisa. After much thought, she finally broke the silence, "Maybe Buchou is right. Saki-san needs this."

"What?"

"I've been trying to stop her from...from connecting with Miyanaga Teru again, but...that was wrong of me."

Hisa stepped up to Nodoka and held her in her arms, "It's okay, Nodoka. The one who wanted to hide was Saki. You weren't at fault. We should just be thankful that this time, it doesn't seem like Teru-san would leave without bringing this all to a conclusion."

After Hisa let go, they looked up towards the ceiling where a display was hung, showing the inside of the arena. Miyanaga Teru, Tsujigaito Satoha, and Amae Koromo were already seated; Saki walked up to them, cast a brief glance at Teru who shut her novel in response, and then flipped a tile on the table. It was white.

"Seems like we have our starting dealer," Satoha said. Koromo beamed at Saki.

"The flowers that bear your will may have since been stained by the dark of night, but Koromo shall not give up trying to return your former glory with the brightness of her moonlight."

"I am not as poetic as Amae-san, but let me tell you that I'm excited to play again with my rivals from the 70th and 71st Interhighs. I shall take this chance to avenge my losses, first against you, Miyanaga Teru-san, then you, Miyanaga Saki-san," Satoha said again.

"It is my honour to be your opponent," Saki answered. Similarly, Teru nodded.

"As is mine," she said, then turned to Saki, "You asked that I look you straight in the eyes, Saki. I shall do that. I hope you'll do the same for me."

But at this, Saki only narrowed her gaze to the table. Sitting down, she reached forward and pressed the button to cast the dice.

**First hanchan, East 1 - Dealer Miyanaga Saki**

Yokohama Lodestars 123500  
Tokyo's Hirose Dolphins 98600  
Nagano Evergreens 91900  
Sakushi Ferreters 86000

Miyanaga Saki in east, Tsujigaito Satoha in south, Amae Koromo in west, Miyanaga Teru in north. The game began with Saki's discard. Satoha took in a tile and surveyed her own hand. She had no yakuhai to speed up her hand, but there was no need, she was already at iishanten with this new draw. Setting it down, she took a useless tile and placed it onto the table.

Koromo felt the tug of the moon as it started rising after sunset. Still, its powers were weak, and the current draw order would not enable her to pick the last tile either. No matter. She would just drag the game till the moon reached its highest perch.

The wall responded to her power. When it came Teru's turn to pick a tile, she felt it seemingly disappear into water between her fingers. She set it down anyway, breaking up a sequential meld, and discarded one of its tiles: 2-sou.

Satoha wondered whether to call a pon. She did need the tile, but making a call would destroy her closed hand status. As such she stopped herself, letting Saki draw instead.

"Kan," she declared a closed kan, took down the rinshanpai, and declared another kan with it. With the second rinshanpai, she set it into her hand, took another tile out, and discarded.

Satoha drew, but she too felt a change in the wall. The luck that she felt earlier slipped from her with her new draw. Could this be Amae Koromo's power? But if she gave up so easily, she would never win. It was still early on in the game, so she could afford to take some risks. Instead of setting down the tile and opting for a safer discard, she put the draw of 6-wan into the tile river.

"Ron."

It was Saki with a 1 han 70 fu, tanyao hand of 3400 points.

So Saki had bypassed Koromo's power by calling kan and advancing her hand with the rinshanpai, but unlike in the past, she did not win on a rinshanpai, instead winning on another's discard. Did Miyanaga Teru already realize this? Satoha glanced over to the person who had offered her a tile to pon, but she declined. Was that to stop Saki from declaring the kan?

"The gleam of your sword was clouded by your impatience," Koromo said as they pushed the tiles into the open slots on the table. Impatience? Satoha wondered as a new set of tiles rose for East 1's first renchan. The familiar chill of Miyanaga Teru's mirror didn't come. She glanced back just to check, but was only met by thin air.

Amae Koromo was taking her time, and was Miyanaga Teru also doing the same?

**First hanchan, East 1, first honba - Dealer Miyanaga Saki**

Yokohama Lodestars 120100  
Tokyo's Hirose Dolphins 98600  
Nagano Evergreens 95300  
Sakushi Ferreters 86000

Prioritize. That was what Satoha had to do. If she let Saki run away with it, her lead would be swallowed. She first had to stop her renchan with the others. It was funny how she had done the same with Arakawa Kei and then third-year Yusa-san during the 70th IH against Miyanaga Teru, now she was joining Teru's ranks against Miyanaga Saki.

The first renchan began. Satoha's starting hand was great like last time, but again, her draws were suppressed by Koromo's power. At first, she considered the possibility that Koromo was selectively stopping Teru's hand and hers, letting Saki's renchan streak lengthen the game. But by how Saki had to call kan to take from the dead wall, it seemed that Koromo's power affected her too. Then again, compared to a quick victory, Koromo always cared more about her personal enjoyment of the game. Perhaps her control of the wall was actually to stop Saki more than the others, seeing as they were all allied against her.

"Tofu..." Koromo called with a haku discard. Satoha looked up to it.

"Pon!"

Koromo smiled as she drew again and discarded, followed by Teru, who set her draw in and looked towards the tiles lined in front of Satoha. The discards were mainly souzu and pinzu. This probably meant that she was waiting for wanzu. But she discarded a 1-wan in the last turn. She probably held triplets of either 2-wan or 3-wan then, forcing her to dump the 1-wan because she wouldn't be able to form a sequence with it.

Considering Satoha usually went for wide waits, her hand probably contained 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7-wan, waiting for 2, 4, 5, 7, 8-wan.

Teru discarded a 7-wan.

"Ron, 5500 points," Satoha called with a 3 han 40 fu, yakuhai, hon'itsu hand with 300 renchan bonus.

"Yes," Teru answered, handing over the points sticks. Koromo nodded.

"Looking at things directly may yield a clearer image than looking at them in the mirror. But even sunlight is just light - it is its influence on other things that give it its importance."

Satoha picked up on Koromo's poetry and grinned, "The sun and the moon sure are great partners today. I'm happy enough to be enjoying the shine."

With that, Satoha reached for the dice to begin East 2.

**First hanchan, East 2 - Dealer Tsujigaito Satoha  
**

Yokohama Lodestars 125600  
Nagano Evergreens 95300  
Tokyo's Hirose Dolphins 93100  
Sakushi Ferreters 86000

"Ah...we're down to third place," Hiroe said. Kyouko agreed.

"It's not the ideal situation, but at least Teru-san put an end to Miyanaga Saki's renchan."

"That's true, but..."

Just when Kainou was about to finish her sentence, a scream from the television interrupted them.

"OH MY GOD! Miyanaga Saki's hand is starting at tenpai! Can you believe it?" Kouko's voice rattled their eardrums.

Koromo might be able to curse her opponents with eternal iishanten, but what if you started at tenpai?

"The power that blooms from the greatest heights may be getting stronger, but Koromo's waters will flood even the highest of mountains," Koromo commented calmly despite increasing pressure from Saki. When it was her turn, she drew and flipped over the tile along with the rest of her hand, "Tsumo, menzen tsumo, dora 3-sou, 500/1000."

Satoha mused that today sure was her unlucky day. Wasn't Amae Koromo known for her haitei raoyue? Who would've thought that she would give that up for a quick win just to end her dealership?

Then again, a monster was a monster. Once they learned flexibility, their luck could easily be converted to even more powerful plays. Miyanaga Saki was the most obvious example.

But what about Miyanaga Teru? Satoha still felt nothing from the former champion, who had thus far been without wins, and had even intentionally given up a hand to her.

**First hanchan, East 3 - Dealer Amae Koromo  
**

Yokohama Lodestars 124600  
Nagano Evergreens 94800  
Tokyo's Hirose Dolphins 92600  
Sakushi Ferreters 88000

But Saki paid Koromo's statement no heed. Five turns into Koromo's dealership, she called, "Pon."

A triplet of red dragons were swiped to the side. They knew they had to change the draw order to strengthen Koromo's control, but they couldn't. Koromo's power couldn't adjust quickly enough to the sudden disruption in time to stop what would happen in the next turn...

"Tsumo. Yakuhai. 300/500."

**First hanchan, East 4 - Dealer Miyanaga Teru  
**

Yokohama Lodestars 124300  
Nagano Evergreens 95900  
Tokyo's Hirose Dolphins 92300  
Sakushi Ferreters 87500

Similarly, Miyanaga Teru's famous renchan streak did not happen, as Saki made two pon and once again won before their first row of discards.

"Toitoi, 700/1300."

**First hanchan, South 1 - Dealer Miyanaga Saki  
**

Yokohama Lodestars 123600  
Nagano Evergreens 98600  
Tokyo's Hirose Dolphins 91000  
Sakushi Ferreters 86800

"Hey, Former Champion, I was looking forward to your renchan streak too," Satoha chided as the game progressed into the south round. Teru waited for Koromo to take her final tile before reaching for the wall as well. By then, Saki had already finished arranging her tiles and discarded.

Koromo drew. This time, the draw order wouldn't let her haitei either. The moon was climbing though. Even if she could not see its light above the enclosed ceiling, she could feel its power. If only she could shift the draw order, then even Saki and Teru would be no match.

"Pon," Teru called, taking her tile. There it was. With the call, the tile walls aligned with her, and she felt her ocean pour into the room.

Saki was at tenpai already, but she could not self-draw the final tile. Teru and Satoha seemed to have bailed from the very beginning, playing extremely cautiously. The only thing she could do to win was...

"Kan," she called Koromo's tile. Koromo shifted her gaze towards Saki, a smile lighting her face. Would it come? Would the flower bloom again?

Saki tossed the rinshanpai into her discards against Koromo's expectations. Satoha drew, knowing if they didn't stop her, Saki would use the lapse in Koromo's power to win again. They had to go back to the original draw order to stop her!

She carefully picked a tile, a 1-pin.

"Pon."

As she expected, Miyanaga Teru called her discard. She really did have an affinity to 1-pin and kept them in her hand!

The water finally submerged the mountain. Teru and Satoha could feel it rob their warmth, but they did not shiver, instead, welcoming the giant hands that swooped slowly down towards them with each turn. By the end, the hands fished out the moon.

"Tsumo, haitei raoyue, 3000/6000."

Menzen-tsumo, haitei raoyue, tanyao, 3 dora, a 6-han haneman!

**First hanchan, South 2 - Dealer Tsujigaito Satoha  
**

Yokohama Lodestars 120600  
Sakushi Ferreters 98800  
Nagano Evergreens 92600  
Tokyo's Hirose Dolphins 88000

"We're dead last now," Hiroe commented again.

"As with how she played against Kainou-san, Miyanaga Teru-san is using her tiles to help her opponents against Miyanaga Saki. It's just..." Kyouko muttered. Kainou finished for her.

"Like with how she played with us, she no longer uses a win streak."

"Is her mirror really gone?" Shizuno asked. She certainly couldn't feel Miyanaga Teru's presence, very much unlike the 71st Interhighs. Akado Harue put her hand to her chin in deep thought.

"I asked her, but she said that the win streak has no direct connection to her mirror. She should be able to channel her luck even without the mirror ability."

"If we consider the mirror ability one of cognition, then it may be true that Teru-san can no longer read the wall or her opponent's hand so clearly. But when she says that she can still channel her luck, it probably means that she can still use it to influence her own draws and those of her opponents. Problem is, why isn't she winning at all then?" Kyouko wondered, then after some thought, she gasped, "Could it be...like..."

Shizuno widened her eyes, "Nelly Virsaladze?"

At that time, Miyanaga Saki's voice sounded again from the television. "Ron, chanta, 2-han 40-fu, 2600 points."

"Yes," Satoha answered. Saki's hand was way too fast. It was faster than Teru and she could interrupt. At least they kept losses to a minimum by limiting the time she could use to develop her hand to a bigger value...

**First hanchan, South 3 - Dealer Amae Koromo  
**

Yokohama Lodestars 118000  
Sakushi Ferreters 98800  
Nagano Evergreens 95200  
Tokyo's Hirose Dolphins 88000

The moon was climbing high. The dice stopped and Koromo divided the wall. Upon receiving their tiles, they all felt the cool of ocean waters submerging them once more. The starting draw order would give Koromo the last tile - while this could absolutely stop even Miyanaga Saki's monstrous luck, this would also mean that Satoha and Teru would have zero chance unless they either switch the draw order, or complete their hand using the dead wall.

_For now, let's just keep it this way_ \- Satoha thought. Her hand was only at 3-shanten currently, and Koromo's power did not affect her reaching iishanten. Might as well do nothing about it so that Saki, who could sometimes start at tenpai, was kept from self-drawing the winning tile.

It seemed like Miyanaga Teru was doing the same, but whether that was to advance her hand to iishanten for the time-being, or was it simply to suppress Miyanaga Saki, Satoha had no idea. The suffocating atmosphere she induced during the 70th and 71st Interhighs was non-existent today, and true to Satoha's intuition, Miyanaga Teru had yet to win a hand. She had just been collaborating with Satoha and Koromo so far, playing critical tiles to influence the flow of the table occasionally, but didn't seem to be advancing her own hand.

What was she planning?

And whatever Miyanaga Saki was thinking, Satoha couldn't see it either. Satoha had made a call that would've switched the draw order, but Miyanaga Saki actually made an open kan of 9-wan to switch it back. The game meandered through the first two lines of discard, and Satoha had reached iishanten for a couple turns, still with no luck of moving into tenpai. She did feel a chance of interrupting Koromo's flood though. The call she had previously made was a pon of dora 5-wan off Miyanaga Teru early in the game, which was suspicious seeing as most would want to keep the tile, especially when it was also a red five. Now that she received the last 5-wan, she pondered whether that was Miyanaga Teru's intention - for her to add to the kan and draw a critical tile from the dead wall.

Should she do it or should she not? Maybe Miyanaga Teru was using her to take the rinshanpai, only to win off it when Satoha discarded. Or maybe Miyanaga Teru simply gave Satoha a second chance to change the draw order - waiting to call on the rinshanpai once Satoha made the discard?

Either way, it was probably better than Amae Koromo winning this hand, seemingly a large one, and dragging the game into her renchan.

"Kan," Satoha called, the sword in her mental world unsheathing with a gleam to disrupt Koromo. She put down the 5-wan, about to push it to the side.

"Chankan."

But she couldn't stop Miyanaga Saki. Saki's hand fell onto the table, tile by tile.

"Chankan, shousangen, hon'itsu, yakuhai chun and hatsu, akapai dora 5-wan, triplet of kandora chun. Sanbaiman, 24000."

The reason why Miyanaga Saki did not opt for a fast hand immediately after Satoha's first call was to use Koromo's iishanten hell to limit Satoha and Teru, giving her time to develop her hand to a higher value? The kan she made maintained the draw order in which Koromo's power would be most active, and also revealed the kandora?

"What a move..." Satoha commented, handing over her points. She then cast a glance at Miyanaga Teru. Was it that Saki overcame even her expectations, or was this intentional on Teru's part?

**First hanchan, South 4 - Dealer Miyanaga Teru  
**

Nagano Evergreens 119200  
Sakushi Ferreters 98800  
Yokohama Lodestars 94000  
Tokyo's Hirose Dolphins 88000

"The giant has toppled! The giant has toppled! For the first time since vanguard, Yokohama drops from its lead by a sanbaiman from Miyanaga Saki. The no-name team from Nagano has reached top place, and its prefectural neighbour, the Sakushi Ferreters, follows in second. The two largest cities in Japan falls to third and last place! How stunning! Is this revenge? Is this a message to us city-dwellers?"

"Nagano is a city! Sakushi is a city too!" Sukoya tried to calm Kyouko down, who was so pumped up that her leg was literally on the table as she yelled into the mic. The fans were loudly cheering from under the enclosed stage, and the Nagano Evergreen members were likewise excited.

"Saki-san really is amazing," Nodoka said. Hisa nodded.

"Yeah. While everybody else was using Koromo-chan's power against her, she harnessed it to her own favour." Hisa paused, looking at the screen that moved from Saki over to Miyanaga Teru, "But unlike last time we played with Miyanaga Teru-san, she didn't seem to be holding back to test something. Rather, her plays today may be...purposeful."

"You mean...that last hand too?"

They soon found their answer when Miyanaga Teru reached for the dice, and the moment her finger touched the button, a streak of lightning tore through the skies. Not just them, but Shizuno also snapped her head to the window upon feeling the tremendous power shoot through her. Awai, who was watching the game with Sumire from the stands, also gasped.

"That was...Teru, right?" Sumire asked. Awai nodded.

"It's that...gigigi thing. But I thought she could only use it from the top of the staircase...or is she already at the top now?"

"Without winning a single hand?"

It took a moment for Awai to figure it out, then she raised her head in comprehension.

"Remember the girl from Georgia?"

"You mean, Nelly Virsaladze?"

"Yeah. Like that girl. Teru is doing the same thing, using strategic play to control the scores so that the others are not too far from her reach, then when enough of her luck is stored..."

"Use it all at once."

And the players on the table also realized it. Normally Miyanaga Teru allocated her luck in a stepwise fashion, moving up a notch with each game till she reached the top of the staircase, from where she could exercise her ultimate power. But this time, she stored all this luck to expend at once - that was why she could use this power even without winning thus far.

"To shine not like the sun for billions of years, but to explode as a supernova? You have changed, Miyanaga Teru," Koromo noted as nine lanterns broke through the ground, one by one with each of Teru's initial draws in a tempest of raging winds. Satoha also recognized it.

"The power that calls nine of the kyuuhai to the starting hand. Aiming for a yakuman hand, huh? Are you underestimating us, Miyanaga?"

Saki only arranged her tiles, then closed her eyes in wait of the first discard. Teru did with a 9-pin.

Saki looked up to her, their eyes meeting for a brief second. But she quickly tore the gaze away, drawing, putting down the tile, and discarding.

"Pon," Satoha called. The draw order was switched and once again, the last tile would be Koromo's to draw. With the moon already over the buildings, shining from above, Koromo's ocean was instantaneous. The cold suffocation set in immediately, and it took Satoha three breaths before she could remind herself this was all an illusion.

"Is Koromo's moonlight brighter, or that of your sacred lanterns, Daughter of the Sun?" Koromo drew, then discarded. Teru just took in a tile, set it down, and discarded another.

It was Saki's turn again. In reality, she was already at tenpai, but Koromo's power prevented her from drawing the last tile. She knew a way of overcoming it, but just thinking of it gave her a searing pain. She was at a dilemma. Interrupt Koromo's power, and Teru could possible tsumo for a win. But if she did nothing, then Koromo was sure to win on the last tile.

So be it. Bomb the dealer with a large hand was probably a good idea either way. She broke up the 3-pin quad in her hand and dumped one of the tiles.

Satoha grinned, seeing that even Miyanaga Saki was following her plan. They all played uneventfully for the next few turns, trying their best to stay on the defensive while maintaining the draw order. There was no chance for Miyanaga Teru to call a tile, nor were the others calling her tiles. The flow on the table just moved sluggishly forward. After exhausting the 3-pin quad, Saki pondered her next discard. The tile she received was a 1-pin.

1-pin, the circular tile, the tile that looked like her sister's mirror, and the tile that symbolized unity.

Not just because it was a relatively safe tile seeing as no 3-pin remained, Saki tossed it out because she hated it.

"Kan."

It was her sister. Saki could feel the red string of fate tie them together with the call. Satoha and Koroma watched intently as Teru reached for the dead wall.

It was the west wind she wished for.

The nine tiles she summoned at the start of the game were three of east, three of south, and three of north. She knew the 1-pin and west wind that meant so much to her and her sister would come on their own accord.

She discarded a 7-sou sideways and placed a points stick on the table.

"Riichi."

Satoha's eyes went wide. Riichi? So Miyanaga Teru's hand wasn't that of a yakuman? It was true that she made a kan of 1-pin, so considering her usual play of favouring kokushi musou when she reached the top of the staircase, this would coincide with Satoha's guess that she wasn't aiming for a yakuman.

Saki chose to ignore the 7-sou, and drew and discarded as per usual. She could've made a call, but she decided not to. She wouldn't be fooled. Interrupting her sister's ippatsu? She did not believe it. With Koromo's power at its height, there was no way Teru could've sensed an incoming win. It was just a temptation for the others to change the draw order so Koromo's interference would be disrupted. If Saki really did make a call, Teru was sure to win.

Not so easy.

Satoha seemed to have thought of the same thing, also making a safe discard that had unlikely chances of being called for. Koromo drew and discarded, also uninterrupted. It was Teru's turn.

She reached forward. The winds swept all the water away. The lanterns shone with such brightness that each overshadowed the moon. It was blinding white, and like a feather, the tile she drew settled gently onto the table, drawing in all the light so that they could see again.

"Tsumo, Shousuushii, 16000 all."

Saki looked at the west wind, the tile that had also meant so much to her far back in time. The wind on the mountain, saturated with the scent of blooming flowers - the wind that belonged to them.

Why was it that the wind Miyanaga Teru had cast away with her own very fingers back then returned to her now?

"Koromo admits defeat. Your yearning for the caress of the west wind even exceeds Koromo's wish for the moon's gaze," Koromo said, handing over her points. Satoha also smiled and pushed the points sticks forward. Only Saki's expression remained stone cold, and it only hardened further when Teru put a hundred-points stick on the side.

**First hanchan, South 4, first honba - Dealer Miyanaga Teru  
**

Tokyo's Hirose Dolphins 136000  
Nagano Evergreens 103200  
Sakushi Ferreters 82800  
Yokohama Lodestars 78000

"In one hand, Miyanaga Teru of Tokyo's Hirose Dolphins reversed the situation, moving her team from last place to first place! And she opts not to take a break to leave things till the second hanchan, instead trying to finish her prey off with a daring renchan! Will this be the beginning of her win streak? Is she unstoppable? The monster Champion Miyanaga Teru is back!"

"Kouko-chan...you shouldn't be calling Miyanaga-senshu a monster..."

Then again, probably nobody was listening to what Fukuyo Kouko was saying anymore, as the loud hometown fans drowned out everything in the arena. Hiroe, too, had stepped up to the TV, nodding in approval.

"That's the champion we all know, eh? I'll give her 95 points."

"Lieutenant, would you please move aside? We can't see the screen," Kyouko answered.

"But that really was amazing, right Sensei?" Shizuno asked. Akado agreed.

"Indeed," she said, "But pressing for a renchan...I'm a little worried, actually."

"She stored her _luck_ for eight hands in preparation for this. Would it not be _wiser_ to give up on the renchan, take a break, and _start over_ in the second hanchan?" Kainou said.

"But this feeling...I think there is something Miyanaga-san wants to say in the next hand..." Shizuno replied.

The game was beginning. Each tile she drew felt like lead to Teru. Though she tried to call her nine lanterns ability again, she only managed to call two of 1-pin and three of west. It would be fine, she thought to herself. The draw order was such that Koromo would not receive the last tile, so the pressure she exerted was weaker. Still, it took her all to defy Koromo's iishanten hell, and with one wrong move, Koromo's power could be aligned again and there would be no way she could overcome it.

1, 1, 5, 9-pin, 4, 7, 8, 9-wan, 1, 2, 3-sou, west, west, west. Discarding the 4-wan, Teru started her hand at iishanten for a chanta. It was Saki's turn. She discarded a 1-pin.

Teru's eyes widened. Should she take it or should she not? It was obvious that Saki was baiting her, seeing as if she took it, the draw order would favour Koromo, but could she really depend on her own power to retrieve another 1-pin?

She couldn't. Her vision was cloudy and sweat soaked her back. She could hardly sit straight anymore, her hands formed tight fists to prevent her fingers from shaking.

"Pon," she called weakly, taking the 1-pin. She then discarded the 5-pin to tenpai for 9-pin.

Saki drew and discarded again, followed by Satoha. Satoha sighed at how both Saki and Teru seemed capable of either starting their hands at tenpai, or reaching tenpai with any single lapse of Koromo's power. In the last hand, Teru even forcefully overcame the power at its strongest! Satoha, on the other hand, could do no such thing. Her hands were already quick, but she was always stuck at iishanten. If only she were a monster player too...

No, she couldn't think like this. Miyanaga Teru didn't look like she willingly cooperated with Miyanaga Saki to invoke Koromo's power this time. She might've been forced to do so. Was there any way they could collaborate to break this situation together?

Satoha made a discard of chun. She had a pair of chun and round wind, south. If she made an early discard, would that send out the message that she had a pair of another yakuhai?

It took a few turns, but a south wind finally came into Teru's hand. She slipped it into the river.

"Pon," Satoha called, taking the tile. The water that was up to their nose started draining much to her relief. Satoha discarded, then Koromo, Saki, and back to Teru. Just before her draw, she closed her eyes.

_Please, listen to me, Kami-sama._

_Give me back the memories I've once held so dear._

She reached forward with the last of her strength. And as per her prayers, the tile mountains answered her call.

What she had prayed for wasn't a 9-pin winning tile, but a west wind.

She nearly cried tears of joy upon seeing the tile in her hand, eyes watery while a smile lighted up her face. She flipped the tile over.

"Kan."

32-fu closed kan of honour tile.

The kandora indicator was flipped. The new dora was 1-sou.

When she won, it would be a 2-han 60-fu, 5800 plus renchan bonus 300, 6200 points hand.

She gazed at Saki, her crimson eyes no longer searing with deadliness, but just warm and loving.

She discarded the rinshanpai, knowing Saki's next draw would be her winning tile.

"Ron."

But that draw never came.

Saki's cold voice rattled through her system. She felt all strength drain from her.

"Tanyao, one dora, 2900."

Tokyo's Hirose Dolphins 133100  
Nagano Evergreens 106100  
Sakushi Ferreters 82800  
Yokohama Lodestars 78000

"And so the first hanchan ends with a cheap 2-han 40-fu hand from Miyanaga Saki that only amounts to 2900 points even with the 300 points bonus! But to break the former Champion's famous win streak, any cheap hand is a valiant effort!" Kouko shouted.

"Although the way you say it sounds a little..." Sukoya was about to complain, but just ended with a sigh, "You are right, Kouko-chan. This first half has been very intense thus far. I think we can all look forward to how the second half will play out."

"And so the great Grandmaster Kokaji admits that she is too old to be a match for these young contestants!"

"I did not..." Sukoya's cries were cut off by the commercials.

* * *

Saki was first to get up, bowing silently to the others and then stepping down the stage.

Satoha sighed, then got up as well, "That was not the best hanchan I've played, but I'll reflect on it during the break. Expect more of me in the second hanchan, Miyanaga."

Koromo looked worriedly at the still sitting Teru, but seeing as even Satoha said nothing of her condition, Koromo decided not to make a mention of it either. She just nodded a "good game" to Teru and left as well.

The last hand was shocking, yes, but really, it wasn't that Teru didn't want to go back to the waiting room...she just couldn't.

Forcing herself to the very limits in the last hand, she no longer had the strength to even stand.

The lights above were blinding. Just staring at it made her nauseous. She closed her eyes, breathed in deep, feeling her hot breath escape with her exhale.

Too hot. Maybe she had a fever.

After a couple minutes, she finally managed to extricate herself from the seat. She tried her best to walk off the stage normally, closing the door on the one-way mirror wall that separated the stage from the audience, stepping down the long steps, through the aisles full of cheering crowds, and out into the cold halls outside the arena.

She had thought the cold would be welcoming, but it only made her shiver. She needed to sit down, but there were no seats here - she could just push on the wall to steady herself.

Still, the world whirled around her. She felt her eyes close without her permission, and her legs to fall.

Steps. Hurried steps. Running steps. In the split second before her fall, someone had closed the distance to catch her.

A familiar warmth. A familiar scent. It made Teru force her eyes open.

"Sa...Saki."

Whatever left of Saki's concern disappeared immediately as she pushed Teru against the wall with all her might. It took everything she had to not scream out the next words:

"What are you even doing here, Miyanaga-senpai?"

Despite Saki's glare, Teru reached up to brush her face, "I have something to tell you..."

"Something about connecting with the tiles again? You lost last time, Senpai."

"Even if I end up losing again, it'll be okay, so long as I get this message across."

So it wasn't even about winning. Then why was she trying so hard? Saki hated to admit it, but seeing Teru like this hurt...hurt far more than she wanted to think.

"If it's an apology, I don't need it. You did nothing wrong to begin with...Oneechan."

Saki squeezed her eyes shut, tears falling as she forcefully pressed her lips against her sister's. She felt her sister tremble beneath her, and when she let go, Teru slid to the floor.

"Now you understand, Oneechan. You did nothing wrong to run away from me, because the only reason I chased after you at that time...was for this."

She ground her teeth together, stopped her hands from reaching out by forming fists. Shutting her eyes from the person she loved most in this world, Miyanaga Saki turned and walked away.

_(Dark!Saki/Teru story to be continued next time...)_


	10. DarkSaki x Teru - part 6

AN: Thanks to EXpertUS and arkzero for their kind reviews in the last chapter. Sorry it took so long for me to finish this chapter. It's pretty long, but it does conclude this short story. After the release of the recent manga chapters, we now know that the Miyanaga family is originally from Nagano, Teru left for Tokyo when she was in elementary school, it was the Miyanaga family home that got burnt down, not a hospital, and Teru's staircase is a new playstyle that Saki knows nothing about. Well, well, well, so that conflicts with many of the events in this story, but oh well, it's AU so I suppose it's alright. Please don't read too deeply into it. With that said, here is the last part of this Dark!Saki/Teru story. Enjoy!

* * *

**3) The Black Lily's Reflection (Dark!Saki/Teru)**

Part Six

When Miyanaga Saki was twelve, she experienced her first and only romance.

The "first" part wasn't too unusual. Sure, parents kept telling their children to only start dating in their university years, but who listened? They were in their first year of middle school. Puppy love blossomed in every classroom. Take the air-headed Misaki for instance – even she had an admirer, Shouta-kun from Class 1C.

But no such rumours were spread about Saki. She was short, still wore stubby pig-tails, and her wardrobe of casual clothes had not changed since three years ago.

She patted her chest, feeling how flat and bony it was. When would puberty ever find her?

"Saki…" a familiar voice called from outside her classroom. She hurriedly grabbed her bag and ran out to meet the person.

"Oneechan!"

Miyanaga Teru, her sister by less than two years, was so unlike herself that sometimes, Saki wondered whether they were really related. Teru was by no means tall, but she still towered above Saki, with Saki barely reaching above her waist-level. While Saki was shy and demure, Teru was bold and confident in front of others, making her well-liked by the adults. But when she didn't have to face them, Teru was even quieter than Saki, often reading in a corner, ignoring everything else around her. Kyou-chan's first impression of her sister was "scary". Considering how she rarely smiled unless it was out of politeness, Saki couldn't really blame Kyou-chan for that sentiment, but that wasn't to say she agreed with him. Miyanaga Teru might be a pretty, well-mannered, intelligent girl in some eyes, a cold, fearsome presence in others, but to Saki, she would always just be a big dummy.

Saki reached up to her sister's hand and held it gently, and in turn, Teru grasped on, crushing her hand. Teru continued walking, out of the building and onto the familiar path home. Despite how Saki tried to slow down her steps to make this walk last longer, Teru was oblivious, keeping her thunderous pace, almost dragging Saki forward. See? Oneechan is an idiot, a big, fat idiot!

"Oneechan, I want to eat ice-cream," Saki pleaded, hoping the detour would give them a bit more time alone. Teru only stopped for a second, rubbing Saki's head with her other hand to make a mess of her hair.

"You just went to the dentist for a cavity last week and you're already craving sweets? How about taking a little break from sugary things? It's winter anyway…who eats ice-cream when it's literally snowing?"

"Then…then…" Saki muttered, desperate for another suggestion, "How about we climb the mountain today too?"

"But the snow is deep and it's so cold…we're in uniform too…"

"Un…"

Saki lowered her head to the snow-covered ground, staring at where her boots dinted the white. Why couldn't her dumb Oneechan understand that all she wanted was to spend a bit more time together, just the two of them?

Her sister bent down to her height, staring at her with the crimson eyes that were one of the only similarities the siblings shared. "What's wrong, Saki?"

"I…I just want to be alone with Oneechan…just a little longer."

"Huh?"

Teru looked a bit surprised, or maybe it was more like she was lost for a way to respond. Embarrassed by the awkward atmosphere she induced, Saki let go of her sister's hand and ran off towards the empty phone booth ahead.

"Saki, wait!" she heard her sister call from behind her, but she still shut the booth's glass door on her face. Teru slammed her forehead on the glass, stumbling back, clasping a hand over where a red mark appeared on her pale skin.

Saki chuckled.

"You are so mean! I don't recall having a sister like that!" her sister shouted from outside the booth. Saki stuck a tongue out at her.

Maybe it wasn't just Teru who acted so differently in front of others and in front of Saki, Saki did the same in front of Teru too.

When she was with her sister, it was like she was in a different world – a world that only belonged to them.

"Hey…so you already punished your Oneechan, won't you open up now?" Teru asked, hands pressed against the glass. Saki reluctantly moved back and opened the door.

"Oneechan is always so dense…" Saki complained, "I don't know what's good about you anyway."

"Don't make it sound like I'm completely hopeless. I taught you how to cook!"

"You mean how to destroy the kitchen. Oneechan has never cooked a meal without throwing some kind of food scrap on the floor."

"I just missed my throw! It was supposed to be for the garbage can…" Teru rebuked, "Wait. That's not even the point. My meals taste good!"

"They're edible…I guess."

"What do you mean you guess? You always finish up everything and then lick the plate."

"I don't lick the plate!"

"Yes you do. Saki licks the plate all the time!"

If only Saki were at least as tall as Teru's shoulders, she would've shoved her out the phone booth and closed the door on her again.

But she wasn't, so she just turned around, ignoring her sister.

"Hey, hey, don't be mad, Saki…Look, Oneechan has something super cool to show you!"

Teru took out a mahjong tile from her pocket and lifted it up to her forehead, "Look, look, it's Saki's favourite 1-pin tile. And it's floating! It's floating!"

"Liar. You just held it between your fingers," Saki retorted after seeing Teru's image in the reflection off the glass.

"Bet you can't do it though."

"Who said I can't?"

Saki turned around and snatched the tile from Teru, trying to clamp it down between her fingers and put it up to her forehead, only dropping it onto the ground in her first attempt. She then tried again, then again, but her fingers were too short and fat – they couldn't get a good grip of the tile!

It was Teru's turn to laugh, prompting Saki's "Oneechan is an idiot!" once again.

"I can't help it. My Saki is so cute."

"I…I'm not yours…" Saki struggled against the blush that started to fill her face. Teru just leaned back against the door and came to a seat in front of Saki. Looking up to the ceiling, she muttered.

"Yeah, that's right…one day, Saki will find a husband and ditch her poor Oneechan."

"I won't!"

The two words poured out her mouth before she could stop them. When her sister stared at her with wide eyes, she stuttered, "Umm...I mean...I'm not planning on getting married."

Was it relief that she saw flash across her older sister's face for a brief second? Whatever it was, it was soon replaced with a teasing grin.

"More like nobody would want you," Teru chided.

"Nobody would want _you_!" A small part of Saki wanted to add that she was the exception...

Her sister might be a big idiot with chest flat as an airport runway, but she still loved her.

Saki's first love. Her only love.

"Well..." Teru placed her hand on Saki's, holding it delicately as though it was the most precious thing in the world, "...even if I were to grow old lonely, I wouldn't wish it upon you. But if it does happen on the odd chance, then I'll be here. You'll always have me to return to, Saki."

* * *

_No, I can't...I can't return to you anymore, Oneechan._

It was the second hanchan of the Japanese Women's Pro-mahjong League team finals. In the time that Saki had spaced out, Amae Koromo had already used a haitei to tsumo a 6-han haneman in her dealership, been stopped in her renchan by her sister who gave up a hefty mangan to Tsujigaito Satoha, and now it was Tsujigaito's time to deal in East 2.

They were on their sixth turn. Saki started at tenpai, but had been silently discarding tiles. She must really have been going by autopilot, because if she were paying attention, there would've been no way she would've thought that she'd tsumo with Koromo's pressure feeling like a cement slab fallen onto her chest from a hundred feet above.

1, 1, 1, 3, 4, 5, 9-wan, 6, 7, 8, 9-pin, 7, 8, 9-sou. She glanced at her sister sitting to her left, eyes hollow, sweat pouring down her forehead. Why did her sister even bother for a wretch like herself? Pity? Saki didn't need it.

There was no turning back. She had to end this.

Saki took the 9-wan and discarded it sideways.

"Riichi."

"And Contestant Miyanaga Saki of the Nagano Evergreens declare a riichi with no other yaku in her hand! That's a heavy bet for 1300 points! Is she that desperate to overtake the older Miyanaga? Is this a siblings' rivalry?" Fukuyo Kouko shouted into the mic, nearly blasting poor Sukoyan's head off with the sound waves. Kokaji Sukoya struggled to regain composure despite the ringing persisting in her ears.

"Contestant Miyanaga Saki could menzen-tsumo, or make a closed kan of 1-wan and rinshan as she has done before in her highschool career... that and you can't discount the possibility of hitting the ura-dora, so it's presumptuous to assume it'd be a 1300 points hand," she analyzed, though she couldn't help but agree with Kouko's sentiment that it was rather ambitious of a bet on Miyanaga Saki's end, considering the risk of having to play every tile against a dangerous opponent as Amae. She did contemplate rebuking Kouko's siblings' rivalry comment since both Miyanaga had at one point or another denied a familial relationship with the other, but she kept quiet, suspecting that Kouko might've hit the jackpot on the reason for Saki's irrational play.

Three turns later, the elder Miyanaga played an unsuspecting 9-pin.

"Ron. 1300."

"And the former Interhigh Champion played consecutively into her opponents' hands. Has it really been that long since we last saw her dominate the mahjong table? Is this bad news for the Tokyo team that their captain is losing her touch in the second hanchan?"

Atago Hiroe bit her bottom lip over Kouko's frustrating comment. Luckily, their captain could not hear it. They had faith in Teru, but this really wasn't looking good. Teru was a strongly offensive player back in her highschool days, but she was also famed for a steel defense. Playing into hand after hand wasn't her style.

"You think she's okay? I'm damn worried," Hiroe muttered to Kyouko. Kyouko shook her head to show that she too was clueless. None of them really knew the extent to which the first hanchan had depleted Teru's strength. Kainou Yoshiko would know best the consequences of Teru's exhaustion, having once taken advantage of it during the 69th IH to defeat her.

Tokyo's Hirose Dolphins 117500  
Nagano Evergreens 101400  
Sakushi Ferreters 100800  
Yokohama Lodestars 80300

**Second hanchan, East 3 - Dealer Miyanaga Teru**

In the next hand, Saki held onto the pair of south in her starting tiles and made a pon off Tsujigaito to switch the drawing order, moving Koromo out of position for the last tile on the wall.

_She's going to make her strike_ \- all three players on the table came to the same conclusion about Saki's intentions.

If Miyanaga Teru were to gamble, it'd definitely be in this hand where she was dealer. Considering Teru's affinity for the tile, Koromo tried to play 1-pin in hopes that the latter could pon off her to change the drawing order, sensing danger from Saki's incoming tile. That didn't happen. Teru's hand was a mess. Depleted of luck, it took every ounce of her skill to try not to lose, let alone win.

Tsujigaito wanted to be braver, but she really didn't have many more points to spare. Better that Miyanaga Saki snipe the top-ranking Dolphins Team to even the playing field, than to make a direct hit on her instead. She followed suit and played a 1-pin as well.

Even if Teru were to try something at this point, she wouldn't be able to. She was blinded, not knowing what lay in her opponents' hands or on the walls beyond. She played a red dragon in hopes somebody kept a pair.

Nobody called for it. Miyanaga Saki took the next tile, the third 1-pin to be set onto the table.

"Tsumo, 300/500."

"Contestant Miyanaga Saki gave up two chances of winning just to self-draw the same tile and hit the dealer with a meager 500 points! Just what kind of juicy history do these two share!?"

"Even if they have a history, it's anything but juicy. It's not right to invade others' privacy, Kouko-chan..."

"Privacy, you say? You scared that I'd raid your bedroom for ero magazines, Sukoyan?"

"There's no such thing in my room!"

"So you wouldn't mind me visiting, right? At night. Deep into the night when there are just the two of us."

"I still live with my parents. You know that... Wait, I didn't mean it that way! I mean that you can't come to my house. Not at night. No! And why are we talking about this on live television?"

**Second hanchan, East 4 - Dealer Miyanaga Saki  
**

It was Saki's dealership. Koromo felt her control over the flow slipping as Saki's power started taking over. Satoha prepared for the onslaught, just hoping that the monster would focus her anger on a single prey. As hard as it was to see the one who had defeated her in the 70th IH fall and shatter to pieces in this storm, there was nothing she could do but watch.

"Ron, 1500."

"Ron, 2300."

"Ron, 4500."

Nagano Evergreens 110800  
Tokyo's Hirose Dolphins 108700  
Sakushi Ferreters 100500  
Yokohama Lodestars 80000

"With three consecutive hits against the same Contestant Miyanaga Teru, Contestant Miyanaga Saki has once again returned her team to top place! Do you hear that cheer? Do you see that staircase, reaching up to the heavens from the hell where she has left her opponents behind? Miyanaga Saki is a tsunami that would stop at nothing to bring about utter, complete destruction! All is futile. Hope is lost. Will there be any last resistance between Nagano and the championship cup?"

Unbeknownst to Fukuyo Kouko, even if they couldn't hear her words, the contestants on the table were feeling exactly as she had described. At least that was what Tsujigaito Satoha thought. Everything felt so futile, so hopeless, that though her callused hands had always found the strength to lift her katana and bring it down again and again and again upon cured bamboo for hours at length, this was draining her drop by drop, fast, like blood out a severed vein. She started at 80000 going into East 4, and she was still at 80000 into its third honba, but Satoha knew this couldn't last long. Either Miyanaga Saki start hitting them too, or she'd just extend the lead far ahead till Miyanaga Teru goes bust. The renchan bonus was racking up. Whoever won the next hand would take an extra 900 points. The stakes were mounting and she couldn't afford to lose.

"Chii," Amae Koromo took Saki's 9-sou just to change the draw order, putting herself in line for the last tile. Opening her hand this way limited her mostly to chanta or souzu-based hands unless she managed to pon a yakuhai. This wasn't her favourite tactic for sure, but she had to use it to patch her power and drag this out.

For six turns, all was uneventful. Koromo could keep her opponents in iishanten, but if her opponents were already past iishanten, she couldn't set them back, nor could she stop her opponents from reaching iishanten in the first place. It was entirely possible that Saki started at tenpai, in which case even now they would still be at risk of her snatching the win. Or Saki was just bidding her time while moving towards iishanten, waiting to make a call to break Koromo's control once she reached it. It would be an easy two draws for her to win from there.

"Pon," Saki took Satoha's hatsu, smacking the green dragons to the edge of the table. There it was, the latter of the two possibilities. Two turns, one for Saki to reach tenpai, another for her to self-draw a win. That was all the time they had to stop this!

Koromo and Satoha's discards went uncalled for. Miyanaga Teru's shaking hand reached for the wall, a faint smile lighting her face briefly before she set it into her hand and took out a white dragon, haku.

"Riichi."

A daring discard. A daring declaration. Koromo nodded in approval while Saki made an effective draw and discarded something all of them couldn't take. No matter. Koromo was going to end this now.

"You truly are the sun, Miyanaga Teru. Even to your last breath, you will continue burning. Shall Koromo join you in your brave dance?"

She discarded Teru's seat wind.

"Ron. Riichi, ippatsu, yakuhai seat wind north, third honba, 6100 points."

Tokyo's Hirose Dolphins 114800  
Nagano Evergreens 110800  
Sakushi Ferreters 94400  
Yokohama Lodestars 80000

"Can you believe how short-lived Nagano's lead was? So that's what it means to be monsters, huh? There is no way the other two monsters would just sit idly and let Miyanaga Saki rob their limelight for long - is that their statement? That this is far from over yet?" Kouko's energetic commentary echoed on outside the enclosed stage. Inside, Miyanaga Teru weakly pushed the tiles into the opened slot while receiving Koromo's point sticks.

"I would want to repay you, but forgive me that I cannot do so on this table," Teru muttered.

"Worry not. Koromo knows no friends on the table. You are all Koromo's toys till this ends. Friendship must wait until you all go bust by Koromo's hands."

Satoha watched the exchange, then glanced down to her score on the LED display. 80000. It still read 80000 in shining, red digits. It was like she was sitting indoors while a blizzard blew by, just snow and wind that didn't even concern her. Or was it more like she was a mere spectator, like the thousands sitting outside the glass walls around them.

"What the hell have I been doing?" she grunted to herself.

**Second hanchan, South 1 - Dealer Amae Koromo  
**

South 1 started with an iishanten hell from Amae. Calls were made back and forth between Miyanaga Saki and Miyanaga Teru to break and return the flow back to Amae's control. The second half of the round saw all three non-dealers' hands locked. It could be that with the night so deep, the moon so high, Amae's power exceeded just iishanten. Rather, even if you were at tenpai, you wouldn't be able to draw the winning tile. Not only that, you wouldn't be able to get yourself or others to make a call to break through.

That was how Satoha felt.

Amae had chained her sword. No, submerged her even, sword just along with it.

At first she didn't even realize. Now that she knew, she felt like she was suffocating, water in her lungs.

_The hell, this is just a game. What am I being melodramatic about?_

She remembered her childhood, flickering in her vision. Her teacher's white hakama faded in and out with each pant of her screaming lungs. She still insisted on grasping onto the handle of her shinai. Her heart beat, rapidly, lightly, barely pumping any blood at all, else why would it be so difficult to stand.

If it were hard to stand, then stand no more. Stamp her foot forward, bring her sword down.

"_Men_!"

"Pon!"

Satoha took Miyanaga Teru's tile, sliding a useless west wind triplet to the side. This made Amae look towards her with wide eyes.

"You couldn't have thought only monsters like you can play on this table, huh?" Satoha asked with a smirk.

She had once told Megan about luck, how it changed with your will. How could she have forgotten it herself?

The katana that was her will finally broke free of its sheath to cut down Amae's moon. But the water remained. The water was now Satoha's to command, stale as it sat in the room. The no-call, no-win hell remained, one that would even trap Amae herself. Three turns later, the wall was exhausted. None of them made it to the ocean surface.

"No-ten."

"No-ten."

"Tenpai"

"Tenpai."

Tokyo's Hirose Dolphins 116300  
Nagano Evergreens 112300  
Sakushi Ferreters 92900  
Yokohama Lodestars 78500

"Now I get why you were so proud of losing points, Amae," Satoha placed her no-ten penalty onto the table. Koromo returned a taunting grin.

"Then Koromo shall make you even prouder in your dealership."

"I'm sure you mean to up your pride a couple heavy notches in my upcoming win streak," Satoha teased. "Then again, can't leave our Miyanaga friends out of the fun either. Those two delicious pits of point sticks will be mine in no time."

**Second hanchan, South 2 - Dealer Tsujigaito Satoha**

Satoha started her hand with a pair of seat wind east and quickly gained the third tile to give her a yakuhai triplet. Still, she didn't open up her hand. She crept to tenpai while remaining silent.

East, east, east, 8, 8, 8-wan, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7-sou, waiting for 1- or 4-sou. She was confident someone would have them. When she received a 2-sou in the next turn, she decided to toss it instead of keeping it for an iipeikou wait on 3-sou.

Koromo took the bait, thinking 1-sou a safe discard.

"Ron, yakuhai, dora 3-sou, 4800."

"A true swordsman you are, Tsujigaito. You kept your promise of honouring Koromo."

"Anything for you, Princess."

Satoha took the point sticks and dropped them into her drawer. Just a little more. Just a little more and she'd overtake Sakushi.

There were 4800 points between them. Next, she'd aim for a 3-han hand. That should put the points value at 5100 in the very least. No, she shouldn't think so small. A 4100-all self-draw mangan sounds more like it!

Satoha's will crushed the table from the point she rolled the dice at the start of her renchan onwards. Saki didn't care. Before long, this momentum would cease. Either Koromo or her sister would do something about it by sacrificing themselves, so it wasn't worth it to join now in their efforts. Let them fight. Let them burn themselves out. She was last dealer. She had plenty of time.

Koromo contemplated whether to try and shift the draw order again to put herself back in position for haitei, but seeing as that didn't work out so well in South 1, she decided to wait. She might have an affinity for the moon, but she was a monster first, a haitei machine second. Luck came to her naturally, with or without that last tile. It was a mere preference to wait till the very end to snatch the win, not a necessity.

"Riichi."

But she wasn't the only one who thought the same. Looking up, she could see Miyanaga Teru take out a 5-wan, discarding it sideways and tossing a 1000-points stick into the center slot. Koromo couldn't believe somebody had beaten her to tenpai!

Saki was unfazed, discarding a safe north wind, Tsujigaito having made a pon of the other three earlier. Koromo drew in a dangerous red 5-pin, kept it, and then discarded chun from her hand, a triplet of which Tsujigaito had also called previously. Now it was the dealer's turn. With two calls already in her pool, she must've been at tenpai, if not at least close.

1, 2-wan, 6, 7, 9-sou, concealed triplet of haku, and the open triplets of chun and north. That was Satoha's hand. Discarding 9-sou would probably give her a better wait later on when she did reach tenpai, but she'd be giving up the chanta yaku, instead limiting her hand to a yakuhai chun, haku, 2-han.

_Screw it, 6-sou it is_ \- she discarded the 6-sou, hoping to keep the extra yaku.

Her luck answered her bet. In the next turn, she drew a 9-sou, safely discarded a 7-sou. Then in the following turn she drew a 1-wan.

1, 1, 2-wan, 9, 9-sou, triplet of haku, chun, and north. Discard the 2-wan and she'd wait on 1-wan, 9-sou for a yakuhai chun, haku, toitoi, honroutou hand. That would be a 6-han haneman!

Only Miyanaga Teru seemed to be at tenpai, and 2-wan was her suji after the 5-wan discard. She doubted Miyanaga had 1-, 3-wan, single-waiting on a 2-wan. After all, Satoha held a pair of 1-wan, and the 3-wan were near exhausted.

"2-wan," she muttered, sliding her discard forward. The clatter of tiles onto the table told her that she had been wrong in her assumptions.

2, 2-wan, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7-pin, 1, 2, 3, 7, 7, 7-sou. A single wait on 2-wan for the pair!?

"Ron, riichi, first honba, 1600," Miyanaga Teru announced.

The hometown crowd erupted in cheers. Fukuyo Kouko was fanatic.

"Is this it? Is this it? A hell wait like that actually making it through. Is this the Miyanaga Teru miracle!?"

"It was a thoughtful play founded upon solid deduction of her opponent's psychology. A well-placed suji trap," Kokaji Sukoya explained.

Tokyo's Hirose Dolphins 117900  
Nagano Evergreens 112300  
Sakushi Ferreters 88100  
Yokohama Lodestars 81700

**Second hanchan, South 3 - Dealer Miyanaga Teru**

"Ron, tanyao, 1-han 40-fu, 2000 points."

When Satoha lost the opening hand of South 3 to the dealer, she wasn't too suspicious yet.

It was a small hand. She had been playing ambitiously. It wasn't too much of a surprise since she played a dangerous 5-wan.

"Ron, riichi, ura-dora 6-wan, first honba, 4200 points." - that was when Amae Koromo lost a hand to Miyanaga Teru.

"Ron, hon'itsu, dora 8-sou, 3-han 30-fu, second honba, 6400 points."

But then, even Miyanaga Saki lost a hand, Satoha's riichi stick going along for the ride. How many hands had it been again? Four hands. Miyanaga Teru had already won four consecutive hands, each higher than the last.

Had Miyanaga's luck returned?

Satoha couldn't stop herself from looking backwards once again, only to see nothing but the glass walls behind her. No mirror. No chill. No nothing. But this was clearly Miyanaga's staircase. There was no doubt about it.

"Your mirror and staircase abilities aren't linked, huh?" Satoha commented while they pushed the tiles in to shuffle. Teru did not answer her. Perhaps she didn't even hear Satoha, her eyes closed for the brief few seconds it took for the next tile set to rise. Despite her win, Teru was looking terrible. Her face had turned this ashen colour that reminded Satoha of the few times she had played with a sick Onjouji Toki.

She was pushing her limits. No, far beyond her usual limits. Her luck was her will, and her will was now her very life. She was using each breath she was mustering to climb higher and higher, inching up the mountain with each hand...

"Tsumo, menzen-tsumo, yakuhai south, haku, closed quad, 3-han 70-fu, mangan. 4300 all."

"Tsumo, 6400 all."

"Tsumo, 8500 all."

"A baiman from the hometown team! Hon'itsu, shousangen, yakuhai chun, hatsu, dora pair, haku! What is happening!? Had Miyanaga Teru just been sleeping this whole time until this late dealership? Are the others no longer a match after she has awakened? She's putting her opponents far behind in her dust, now ramping up an almost hundred thousand points lead over second-placed Nagano Evergreens! This. Is. A.** -_BEEP- _**ing STORM!"

"Language, Kouko! Watch your language!"

"Sorry, sorry, got a little excited back there. I just can't believe it. If Miyanaga Teru had that strength up her sleeves before, why didn't she use it? Is she saving the best for the last?"

"I don't think mahjong works quite like that. I mean, there's luck involved..."

"Oh, come on, Sukoyan. We're talking about monsters like you who can totally cheat the luck."

"I swear I didn't cheat. And please don't accuse Contestant Miyanaga of cheating either!"

"That's not what I meant. It's like, when Sukoyan plays with me...that's cheating. Oh, whatever, never mind. You monster players would never understand the pains of the ordinary man."

"You're a woman, Kouko-chan."

As Kouko and Sukoya's antics continued on-air, the stage was once again silent. There was no overwhelming pressure on the table. If they felt a pressure, it was that of Koromo, Satoha, and Saki. Miyanaga Teru looked like a leaf, a leaf grey with age, about to fall with the slightest breeze. But she was undeniably clinging on, pulling the tile river beneath her waning grasp. The desperation was not something Koromo nor Satoha could overcome.

This was the will to give up anything to win. The will to die for it.

"Whatever you are trying to accomplish, Miyanaga, is it really worth all this?" Satoha asked.

Teru dipped her head in a slight nod. Saki didn't even look at her. She couldn't.

Why? Why, after everything she had said and done, was her sister still trying so hard? Was she really that pitiful that her sister would rather kill herself than to leave her alone?

This was ridiculous.

A stupid mahjong game. Her sister was gonna die for a stupid mahjong game. All because of her.

Her sister should just admit it. Miyanaga Saki was a disgusting person with a disgusting, incestuous lust for her. Who cares that Saki wasn't actually to be blamed for their cousin, Nami's death? Somewhere in Saki's heart, she had always known her sister didn't leave her behind in Nagano because of that, didn't refuse to forgive her during the 71st IH because of that...

She pretended that was the reason to make herself feel better. She pretended that she could be contented just being sisters with Miyanaga Teru again. That was why she clung onto rinshan kaihou, the yaku her sister taught her. She thought that if Teru saw her using it, then she wouldn't have the heart to reject their familial ties again. Saki would've done anything just to be together with her sister back then.

Of course, she didn't fool her sister. Miyanaga Teru did the right thing of leaving once again after that fateful team final. It was for the best.

So Saki could finally forget her. So she could finally forget her hideous self. So she could just...waste herself away in this game she had always hated.

But why did her sister have to come back again? Why couldn't she just get it over with and disown her once and for all?

**South 3, Sixth Honba**

Tokyo's Hirose Dolphins 189100  
Nagano Evergreens 86700  
Sakushi Ferreters 64700  
Yokohama Lodestars 59500

"Kan."

"Kan."

"Kan."

Saki's left fist was held so tightly that her knuckles had turned white, her right clawed the third kan-dora indicator and flipped it open. A 3-wan, making 4-wan the new dora. Her hand had closed quads of south, hatsu, 6-sou. With the new dora she retrieved from the dead wall, she was now tenpai for 4-wan, 2-pin after her discard of 1-pin.

Koromo smelled a very large hand, so did Satoha, and both bailed knowing they were no longer a match for this crushing power emitting from Miyanaga Saki. They really didn't want to make this choice. They didn't have time left to fight this around hundred twenty thousand points deficit anymore. But a good mahjong player needed to know how to make the decision to bail, and being good mahjong players, they knew this was the time to make one. They were out.

Miyanaga Teru was not. She drew in a tile and discarded the new kan-dora.

"Ron. Toitoi, sanankou, sankantsu, yakuhai hatsu, renfonpai south, kan-dora triplet 4-wan. Sanbaiman in sixth honba, 25800."

The Tokyo crowd was silent. The Nagano fans screamed in applause. Kouko was yelling into her mic.

"This. Is. Not. Over. Yet! Just when we think we we're seeing the end, the former champion's win streak is broken by a sixth honba sanbaiman by Miyanaga Sakiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! Now it's Nagano's turn to deal. With only 50800 points between them now, one more direct hit sanbaiman is all that it would take to turn the tables! Is this what will happen? Will the Nagano representatives create another miracle, just as they had done in the 71st Interhigh?"

**Second hanchan, South 4 - Dealer Miyanaga Saki**

Tokyo's Hirose Dolphins 163300  
Nagano Evergreens 112500  
Sakushi Ferreters 64700  
Yokohama Lodestars 59500

The wind whirled. The ground cracked. This might all be an illusion, but it felt oh so real. Red lanterns emerged from the crevices, rising amidst an inaudible rumble. But instead of nine, there were only four of them by Miyanaga Teru's side, corresponding to the two west wind tiles, 9-wan, and 9-sou in her starting hand.

"Teru just used it again, right? That flicker of the lights. That was her?" Sumire asked Awai as she glanced up to the slightly-swaying lighting fixtures overhead. Awai nodded.

"But her streak was broken. So she only managed four tiles. She shouldn't force herself in that case, damn it! I told her to just go up to Miyanaga Saki and apologize! Why does she have to make this so difficult?"

"It's okay, Sumire-senpai. We've gotta believe her."

Sumire sighed, wishing her worries would leave her with that long exhale. They didn't.

"You monster players, always so reckless. I end up having to babysit you girls all the time."

"I know. I'm sorry."

Truth of the matter was, it wasn't that the tiles weren't summoned. They were just stolen.

_Your powers come from the mountain, but I am one who even the Lord of Mountains must bow down to. Why would you even think for a second that you could pull this off again, Oneechan?_

Saki crushed three lanterns in her hand. Chun. Hatsu. Haku.

In the next turn she drew an east. Then south. Then north.

1-pin.

9-pin.

1-wan.

9-wan.

1-sou.

9-sou.

Starting from just three of the yaochuu tiles, Saki had advanced to an iishanten for kokushi musou.

Satoha was glad she had tossed that west wind early, getting pon'ed off by Miyanaga Teru. It was obvious from Miyanaga Saki's discards that she was going for a kokushi yakuman, and judging by the power that swirled in the room, depleting them of air, Satoha wouldn't bet on the chances of Saki not succeeding.

Even if there were no way for her to reach first place now, Satoha still didn't want to end up last. She might not be able to win this last hand, but she'd at least defend and hope that Amae Koromo got hit instead. That was the least she could do for her fans, fans of the Yokohama team. So if Satoha still had that west wind now, she wouldn't toss it out in this kind of situation.

But Miyanaga Teru was different.

Her heavy breaths could be heard as she reached for her tile on the wall. It glowed when she took it in.

"Kan."

Following the light, Satoha could see a new lantern she hadn't seen before. There were only four previously. Now there were five. Five lanterns around Miyanaga Teru...and a mirror!?

The fourth west wind hit the side, joining Teru's open triplet. The new dora indicator was flipped - it was a 9-pin. The others might not understand, but Saki knew full well what this meant.

When they were kids, her sister would steal her kan with a kokushi musou.

Now that she was making a kokushi musou, her sister had dared make a kan.

Because in that mirror, that mirror Saki had broken but now lay mended before her, she could see herself again, cuddling her own legs in the lonely darkness.

Except that darkness wouldn't last much longer.

_"My name is Teru. My name means "to shine", and because I am your older sister, I will always shine for you, Saki."_

Teru touched the dead wall. There was another light - one that shone through Saki's night, lighting up the black lilies till their petals were white once more.

The last lantern. The last tile. An iipin lay face up on the table.

"Tsumo, rinshan kaihou, kan-dora 1-pin."

Open quad of west, 2, 2, 7, 8, 9-wan, 1, 2, 3-pin, 7, 8, 9-sou. A 2-han hand with no yaku other than rinshan.

The value was 700/1300.

"And the Tokyo's Hirose Dolphins have done it! The dark horse has beaten their division rivals, the defending champs, and the fan-favourites with a 166000 points finish over the second-place Nagano Evergreens at 111200 points..."

The crowd's roar was deafening. Kainou shook Akado's hand, Atago Hiroe and Takakamo Shizuno leapt up at once and crashed into each other, tumbling onto the ground. Only Suehara Kyouko sat watching.

"Plus/minus zero," she muttered.

"Whaaaaaaaaa?" Hiroe asked, not quite hearing what Kyouko just said with the noise.

"Plus/minus zero. If we look at the second hanchan alone, Miyanaga Saki gained 5100 points. Pretend that everybody started at 25000 instead, then that'd be 30100 points - a plus/minus zero again, just like that time we played her during the 71st Interhigh, and what she did consecutively during the Nagano individuals qualifiers."

Kainou shook her head, "Miyanaga Saki did not _score_ plus/minus zero. Teru-san _forced her_ into plus/minus zero."

_That was why Oneechan needed the win streak. I had not broken it. She gave me the sanbaiman. The next hand should've been a yakuman. She instead used that strength to summon her lanterns, hid the last on the dead wall, only so she could rinshan a hand that would put me at plus/minus zero._

_When I can't be a strong flower anymore, she'd be the flower in my stead. When I want to hide in the night, she'd be my lantern, giving me light and warmth._

_Why? Why does she have to do this? Why?_

Tears streamed down Saki's eyes. She willed them not to fall, but they defied her commands, plummeting down her still youthful face in big, fat drops. Teru reached up, wiping away a tear with her thumb. Finally, the siblings looked at one another again.

"Don't cry...Saki..."

The last thing Teru saw was her own image reflected in Saki's eyes.

_She knows now. She knows it's not just her, but I...I love her too - in the same way she loves me._

_All my cowardice. All my running away. Finally, I have returned. I have caught up to her._

_And maybe, just maybe, she might forgive me..._

She was probably falling now. Teru couldn't really tell, but as her consciousness faded away, she found herself smiling.

* * *

_"Oneechan..."_

It was a dark night. A storm raged outside. Lightning split the skies for a brief second, followed by roaring thunder before it settled down to the sound of downpour again.

Saki stood at the opened doorway to her sister's room. Inside, she could see her sister lying in bed, soft breaths moving in and out as she slept.

"Oneechan? Are you awake?"

No response.

Saki moved closer, her small feet barely making a patter above the noise. Usually, her sister would've heard her by now, and though she'd groan a little in protest to being awakened, she'd move to the side to let Saki into her blankets.

But this time, even as she sat down on the bedside, her sister still did not wake up.

"Uuuu...what should I do?"

Now was the chance to back out. If she did nudge her sister awake, she'd have to stay, and Nami-chan would laugh at her for being a kid in the morning. Maybe her sister too, especially after that talk she had just given her about the origins of her own name. Saki. To bloom. To bloom like a flower high above the treeline. She had promised to be strong like that, and just hours later, she was trying to sneak into her sister's bed just because she was scared of the storm?

"I shouldn't..."

"But...but I can't do it. I just can't."

She sat a little longer, watching her sister sleep. Her sister's brows were creased even in slumber. It must be because of her. She was such an idiot that her sister always had to watch out for her.

Saki touched the place between her sister's brows and tried to smooth it out.

"Umm..."

The sound her sister made caused Saki to jolt her fingers back, but when her sister's calm breathing returned, she became a bit more courageous. Ambitious.

"Oneechan..."

She moved even closer, her eyes landing on her sister's nose, down its straight length to her lips.

Saki gulped.

Her heart pounded. All her previous fears left her with a new fear, a new fear for the consequences of what she would do now.

_This was unnatural._

_This was unforgivable._

_She couldn't, she shouldn't even think of her sister this way, let alone..._

Miyanaga Saki had her first kiss with her first and only love - her sister, Teru.

It was not sweet. It was not soft. It was fleeting, for she feared her sister would wake up, and then hate her forever.

But the touch of her sister's lips against her own was something she could never forget. For many years afterward, she would wake up in guilt for ever having done it, though she was the only one to even know it took place.

But that guilt never overshadowed the desire that still burnt within her. It scared her that if she could go back in time, she would've probably done it again.

_I'm horrible. I'm disgusting._

And she did it again today, when her sister was collapsing onto the arena floor during break, all because of her.

Instead of getting someone to take her away to the hospital or something, she had pushed her up against the wall and forced a kiss upon her.

And now...look where that got them.

"Saki-san..." Haramura said her name softly, putting a hand on her shoulder, "You've been sitting here for a day and night already. How about you go back to the hotel and take a short nap before coming back? Buchou and I will watch over Miyanaga-senpai for you. Hirose-senpai and Oohoshi-san are outside too."

"It's alright. I'm fine."

"I know you are worried, but if you get yourself sick, then how would you be able to take care of Miyanaga-senpai? She wouldn't want to wake up only to find out you're in another hospital bed for exhaustion."

Saki wanted to say she didn't care, but that would just be rude. Nodoka-san didn't even know her sister personally, and yet she was helping take care of her. That spoke volumes about how much she cared for Saki and her family.

"Alright, I promise I'll head back soon, but may I just have a couple more minutes with my sister, alone?"

"Sure. I'll be outside if you need me."

Nodoka gave her shoulder one last squeeze before heading out and closing the door behind her. The sun was starting to rise, its rays shining in through the fluttering, white curtains. The room smelled faintly of the daffodils Saki had placed by the window side.

It was a bright day outside, but Saki just wanted to stay here where the sun couldn't reach her.

If she were in the dark, her sister would come for her again, right?

"Oneechan...I'm sorry."

She placed her hand onto her sister's, careful not to jostle the IV needle jabbing through her sister's skin. Just looking at it was painful.

Was this why Teru's hand shook?

The fingers threaded through Saki's until they were interlocked.

"Sa...Saki."

Saki snapped up to see that Teru's eyes had opened. She was looking at her longingly.

"Saki, I'm...sorry."

"No, no! It's me. _I_ am sorry. I shouldn't have..."

Teru's other hand reached behind Saki and tugged her head down to her.

Their lips met. They overlapped softly. It still wasn't sweet. It was salty with tears, but it was warm.

"Onee...chan?"

"I thought it was me...my corrupted feelings...I knew it was wrong, I'm the older one, but I couldn't stop myself."

"What...what are you talking about?"

"I had never blamed you for what happened to Nami-chan. I blamed myself for attending the entrance exam instead of being there, watching over the two of you. If I hadn't been trying to run away, I wouldn't have been in Tokyo. I blamed myself for not daring to visit her at the hospital, because I couldn't face her...and...I couldn't face you.

Saki...I have...felt...this way about you...for a long time. When you kissed me that night..."

Saki's eyes widened. She pulled away in horror, but Teru's hand wouldn't let her go.

"...I was happy. I was overjoyed, but I was afraid. I was afraid I did something to...taint you, to give you these feelings that you shouldn't have. So I ran away to Tokyo. I thought that you would forget me, and then, you'd be able to live a happy, normal life without this failure of a sister pulling you back."

"That's not it. Oneechan didn't do anything bad to me. I got these feelings all by myself. And these feelings aren't wrong! Not when we feel the same way. I refuse to believe this is wrong. And I refuse to believe you are a failure!

Because I love you, Oneechan! Not as a sister, but as you, Miyanaga Teru. So you can't be a failure! Never!"

Saki threw herself at Teru, who wrapped an arm around her, holding her tight.

"I know. I know now. I was so silly at that time to think that I could've somehow played with your heart and gave you feelings. How egoistic of me. You are my Saki, after all. You are a sweet flower on the mountain peak - how would I have even been able to reach you?"

But she did. Maybe she hadn't manipulated Saki, but she had certainly reached her.

From birth through childhood and adolescence, always being there, being her sun, loving her.

That was why Saki loved her back. She didn't care what others thought. She knew nobody else on this Earth would ever love her in the same way Miyanaga Teru had - and still do.

"Promise that you won't go away again, Oneechan?"

"I promise. Pinky swear."

Their pinkies locked and Saki stole a kiss again. This time, it was a long one.

_(Dark!Saki/Teru story - end)_


End file.
